NATCA NATIONAL OFFICE
DEPARTMENTAL UPDATE
October-November 2018
Update from Office of General Counsel on FLSA Suit – Nov. 26, 2018
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has scheduled an oral argument for Jan. 7,
2019, in the lawsuit brought over a decade ago that challenged the practice the Federal
Aviation Administration enacted to provide compensatory time and credit hours in lieu of time-
and-a-half overtime pay after the passage of the personnel reform statute. Earlier court
decisions in this litigation threw out the claims involving compensatory time and limited
recovery for the NATCA plaintiffs to compensation for only those credit hours that were
accumulated in excess of the 24-hour limit during the statutory recovery period that ended on
Sept. 30, 2009. The FAA and Department of Justice made an unsuccessful attempt in the last
round of litigation to submit evidence of credit hour usage by the NATCA plaintiffs after Oct. 1,
2009, in an effort to have the court reduce the damage awards for the NATCA plaintiffs. The
trial court's decision to exclude that evidence is the issue currently under review by the appeals
court. With an oral argument now scheduled on this issue, the case may finally be resolved in
the coming months. NATCA will keep members updated as additional developments occur.
Members with questions about the status of the case should contact NATCA General Counsel
Marguerite L. Graf (mgraf@natcadc.org).
POC: General Counsel Rita Graf
