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| Date: | March 21, 2011 | | Contact Name: | Sandra Whalen | | Contact Phone: | 651-296-5238 | | Contact Email: | sandra.whalen@senate.mn | | For Immediate Release | |
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| DELTA EMPLOYEES ASK SENATOR DALEY FOR LEGISLATIVE SOLUTION TO SCHEDULING PROBLEM UNDER LABOR LAW |
(ST. PAUL) – The Minnesota Senate has given unanimous support to a bill sponsored by Sen. Ted Daley (R-Eagan) that exempts certain air carrier employees from Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) overtime payment requirements when they work over 48 hours in a workweek that is not required by the employer, but arranged by voluntary agreement among employees to trade schedules.
“Flexibility in scheduling is highly prized in the airline industry, and this is an issue that Delta employees have raised and asked for assistance in finding a solution,” Daley said. “This flexibility allows employees to balance their work schedules with other family or personal priorities.”
Current Delta employees in Minnesota are restricted from voluntarily trading scheduled work hours with fellow employees if the swap will cause one of the workers to work more than 48 hours in a week because of the state’s overtime requirements. Until recently Delta has been able to allow this flexibility in Minnesota, but employees recently voted to not be contract employees and now fall under the state law regarding overtime as it relates to voluntary swapping, Daley said.
“In putting together this legislation, we had great support from workers, employers and lawmakers representing different districts that had large facilities,” he added.
Nationwide, 40 out of 50 states already allow this practice, including all cities with a Delta hub or reservation call center.
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