Originally Posted by MD11Fr8Dog

Originally Posted by Raptor

Where does this information display come from?

Originally Posted by MD11Fr8Dog

FlightAware - Flight Tracker / Flight Status / Flight Tracking

Originally Posted by Unknown Rider

Actually there are several out and backs on the Bus this afternoon. They are extra pairings and don't happen often but they do happen.

So are you saying that you couldn't make it to work on time and because management wouldn't be flexible with you that you dropped a MLA notification?

Originally Posted by FDXLAG

I can see his point management did not want to negotiate, their loss. For fun you should see how much they want to negotiate when they are drafting.

Originally Posted by Raptor

It was a straight-up question, only as I had never seen that website before.

Originally Posted by Raptor

From my research over the years, this is the best answer I can give you:

USERRA, like our contract, is only as good as the company wants to give you--unless you want to grieve it or go to DOL over it. It's hard to fight the USERRA battle by yourself, but that's what you have to do: research and call in the DOL when warranted. The union gives very little help (or at least they did in past years) with USERRA issues. So, if the company says they gave you 5 of years because that's all they had to do, you have to pursue any issues you have with ESGR, DOL, etc, if your contact with the company doesn't produce a satisfactory result for you.

Many people, myself included, got a DSA bump-up for our time away. Some PMs to me and posts on these forums show that some people haven't gotten any DSA bump-up on their return. I can't figure out the rhyme or reason why some people seem to have been treated differently. It seems the more recent Mil Leave long term guys/gals may have not been getting it?

What most people have experienced from what I've heard over the past decade plus (when they got a DSA bump-up on return at all) is the company will take your usage the previous 12 months and use that as the basis of your bump-up. For example, in the prior 12 months to your long-term MLA, if you used half your sick leave, then went out on long-term MLA for 4 years, you would get 36*4 as your DSA bump-up. If you used no sick leave before you went out for 4 years, you would get 72*4, and if you had the misfortune to break a leg and were out for 72 hours in the 12 months before you went on long term MLA, then you got nothing as a bump-up on return.

Some general USERRA information (lots of nuances and caveats I could add, but not for this particular post!): USERRA generally protects perquisites of seniority. Thus, when you return from long-term MLA you get things "fixed" that are based on definite progress you would have made if you hadn't been gone. You get to select any seat/plane you could have held on any bid while you were gone (escalator principle--you tell them, they don't tell you what you want to come back on, they have to start your pay within two weeks of your return), you get pension make up (the 7% contribution), you come back with all years counted towards pay status (left on 4th year pay, were out 4 years, you now are on 8th year pay), you are on 8th year vacation earnings, you get to make up any 401(k) contributions you desire (you get 5 times the period you were gone, max of 5 years to make up any 401(k) you desire--so don't pass up company $500 match, make sure you put in at least $500 each year you were gone to get the free company money match--contact Vanguard), etc. In general, you can also be treated no worse than any other form of leave at the company. So if personal leave, jury duty leave, disability leave, etc provides a benefit, you must receive at least the same benefit while on a leave of absence due to military leave.

But, RSA and Vacation earnings are generally not held to be perquisites of seniority. (Case law is pretty clear on this.) Most airlines (AA excepted) don't get any vacation or RSA/DSA modification on their return. FedEx is an exception though for one simple reason: when you have over 686 hours, those excess hours go into your retirement. This is the reason that FedEx HAS to make up DSA for the time you were gone. USERRA is very clear that it protects all forms of retirement. (Let's hope we never negotiate away this 686 hours spill over into retirement because if we do, then DSA bump-up will no longer apply to returning military leave FedEx pilots.) Vacation doesn't accrue while you're away. In fact, vacation is earned in arrears, so you earn your vacation for 2015 by working in 2014--so the returning military leave pilot may have no vacation depending on how long their military leave was.

I don't understand how FedEx can claim 5 years is all they have to make up when they've agreed that some make-up is required. The 5 year limit is a USERRA limit on duty whereby the member is protected by the law. But, there are exceptions on the time limit for national emergencies, contingencies, etc. Most of the long term duty post 9/11 was exempt from the 5 year limit, which it seems clear from your post that you know this being away for 7 years. But, it makes no sense that all FedEx will "reimburse" you is 5 years...the law makes no limit on benefits, it just says you're protected for a max of 5 years with exceptions. I would point out the line on your DD214 or orders which state, "this duty is exempt from Title xx, USC..." and maybe this would prod FedEx legal to realize that you were exempt from the 5 year limit, so the process of making you whole should account for the entire 7 years. They are clearly wrong to limit it to 5 years, once they've agreed to pay something--it has to be the entire 7 (as long as the 2 additional years were exempt from the USERRA limits). I would press to test on this issue as they're clearly wrong.

As to the last item of how can a company calculate pay, sick hours, etc while a pilot is gone. USERRA provides two general methods. The first is when your pay or benefits are definite (a salaried employee for example). This first case is easy...you get the definite amount. The second method permitted is a company can use the prior 12 months to calculate values. In this case, FedEx has been using your usage of the prior 12 months of RSA to base their DSA bump-up. I have had pilots PM me that they've talked to DOL and they feel that since sick hours is a definite amount of 72 hours per year, that's what pilots should get. The only way to establish the case for everyone's benefit is to proceed with a complaint to DOL/Vets. Someone will have to stand tall and press DOL to take the case.

Who will that someone be?