Airlines fight Calif. law that expands breaks for employees
ABC News
The airline industry is raising the stakes in a fight over mandatory rest breaks under California law
DALLAS -- The airline industry is escalating its campaign against a California law that gives pilots and flight attendants who are based there more rest and meal breaks than they are guaranteed under federal regulations.
A study commissioned by an airline trade group and released Tuesday warns that the result will be higher costs that would force carriers to cut flights and raise fares.
The trade group wants the U.S. Supreme Court to strike down a 2021 appeals court ruling which held that California-based flight crews are covered by the state's requirement that workers be free from all job duties for 10 minutes every four hours and for a 30-minute meal break every five hours, even during flights.
The ruling by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco came in a lawsuit filed by flight attendants for California-based Virgin America, which was bought by Alaska Airlines in 2016 and no longer exists.
