The Virgin America flight attendants in California sued their airline in 2016, claiming that California’s employment laws were being violated. The conflict centered on California’s requirement that employees be free from all job duties for 10 minutes every four hours and take a 30-minute meal break every five hours. The flight attendants contended that they should be treated similarly to other California-based employees.
The debate centered on whether these laws should apply to flight attendants based in California. The airline industry claimed that the Federal Aviation Administration established crew rest rules (FAA). The 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco, however, ruled in favor of the flight attendants in 2021. Despite airline attempts to overturn the decision, the Supreme Court declined to hear the case.
While this may have appeared to be a victory for flight attendants, it had far-reaching implications for airlines. Airlines typically staff flights with the bare minimum of flight attendants. As a result, requiring crew rest breaks during which employees are completely off duty would force airlines to increase staffing levels. The airline industry argued that implementing this change would cost them billions of dollars per year, resulting in an increase in airfare. To avoid this outcome, many airlines would have likely closed their California flight attendant bases.
A recent update, on the other hand, is mostly positive. California Senate Bill 41 was recently signed into law, prohibiting airlines from closing crew bases in the state. The law states that meal and rest period requirements do not apply to flight attendants covered by a collective bargaining agreement under the Railway Labor Act, provided that there is a provision addressing rest breaks. This is a bipartisan effort. It is also illegal to sue over meal or rest breaks.
Unionized airlines are only required to provide meal and rest breaks for flight attendants in accordance with their collective bargaining agreements. This means that the vast majority of airlines will be unaffected.
Delta is the only major US airline without a flight attendant union, and it appears that this bill would not apply to them. This raises an intriguing question: is California promoting a pro-union agenda? It’s worth noting that campaigns to unionize Delta flight attendants have been ongoing for years. To be fair to California’s government, it appears reasonable to limit coverage to airlines with collective bargaining agreements. Unionized airlines negotiate every aspect of their contracts, whereas Delta flight attendants accept whatever management offers them.
While the new law may have significant implications for Delta, it is still a positive development for the majority of airlines. It’s encouraging to see California’s politicians working together to find a solution that protects airline workers and passengers while preserving good-paying jobs.