FEDERAL JUDGE RULES MA CANNOT IMPOSE SICK LEAVE LAW ON AIRLINES
July 14, 2023
On June 2, 2023, a U.S. federal judge issued a ruling to prohibit the Massachusetts State Attorney General from enforcing the Massachusetts, “Earned Sick Time Law” against airlines. As background, Airlines for America (“A4A”) filed suit against the Massachusetts State Attorney General in 2018, after the state instituted its sick leave law that effectively allowed airline employees to use sick leave time for additional reasons beyond what was allowed in their collective bargaining agreements, and prohibited airlines from using sick leave absences as a “negative factor” in employee discipline decisions, among other things. A4A alleged that the sick leave law was preempted by the Airline Deregulation Act (the “Act”) and unlawfully interfered with interstate commerce. During the trial on the matter, airline lobbying groups also presented “extensive, credible” testimony from managers at American Airlines, JetBlue Airways, and Southwest Airlines, some of the major airlines operating to/from airports in the state, noting the prevalence of sick leave abuse by airline industry personnel and specifically detailing instances of earned sick time abuse, especially during and around holidays, among Boston-based crews. The court noted that the state sick leave law did in fact run afoul of federal law by allowing for abuse of sick leave time by airline employees, resulting in unexplained absences, and therefore negatively disrupting airline operations overall. The court also agreed with A4A’s argument that the state law was preempted by the Act.
If you have any questions, please contact Evelyn Sahr (esahr@eckertseamans.com 202-659-6622) or Drew Derco (dderco@eckertseamans.com 202-659-6665).
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