A publication of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association
Issue link: http://natca.uberflip.com/i/969432
NATCA NATIONAL OFFICE DEPARTMENTAL UPDATE April 1 - 13 , 2018 OFFICE OF GENERAL COUNSEL Update from Office of General Counsel on FLSA Suit – April 9, 2018: On March 20, 2018, the Department of Justice and FAA filed the opening brief in the government's appeal of the most recent trial court decision on the damages due to the NATCA plaintiffs in the FLSA case that was initiated in 2007. The government's brief had initially been due in January 2018, but the DOJ sought and received several extensions of the filing date from the appeals court. The brief on behalf of the NATCA plaintiffs is now due by the end of April 2018. As noted in previous updates, this case was already brought before the appeals court once before after decisions from the trial court i n 2008 and 2011 that were in favor of the NATCA plaintiffs and a trial in 2012 to determine damages. The 2014 review by the appeals court resulted in a decision that overturned part of the trial court's earlier rulings and a remand of the case back to the U.S. Court of Federal Claims for additional consideration. On remand, the Court of Federal Claims ruled that the government violated the applicable federal law when it allowed the NATCA plaintiffs to accrue credit hours in excess of twenty - four hours durin g the statutory recovery period. The Court of Federal Claims also ruled that the Department of Justice and FAA were prohibited from introducing additional evidence in the case at this late stage of the litigation. On Sept . 1, 2017, the parties filed a join t stipulation of damage awards that were revised to reflect the decisions on remand and listed the new damage amounts for the 7,912 NATCA plaintiffs in the case. On appeal, the government is seeking a reversal of the trial court's decision prohibiting th e introduction of evidence of the NATCA plaintiffs' credit hour usage after October 2009 that could be used to reduce the stipulated damage awards. In disallowing that evidence, the trial court had held that the government was under an ongoing duty to time ly supplement its disclosures with regard to credit hour usage for the calculation of damages, the government failed to fulfill its duty in a timely manner, and the government's failure was not substantially justified or harmless. After the submission of the brief on behalf of the NATCA plaintiffs later this month, it is anticipated that the appeals court will schedule oral argument of the issue for later this summer or fall. NATCA will keep members updated as additional developments occur in the case. Members with questions about the status of the case should contact NATCA General Counsel Marguerite L. Graf ( mgraf@natcadc.org ).