Flight Attendant Duty Period Limitations and Rest Requirements rule (2022)
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The Flight Attendant Duty Period Limitations and Rest Requirements is a significant rule issued by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), effective November 14, 2022, that Increases the minimum rest period for flight attendants pursuant to the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018.[1]
Timeline
The following timeline details key rulemaking activity:
- November 14, 2022: The final rule became effective.[1]
- October 12, 2022: The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) published the final rule.[1]
- January 3, 2022: The comment period ended.[1]
- November 2, 2021: The FAA published the proposed rule and opened the comment period.[1]
Background
Section 335(a) of the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018 required the FAA to increase the minimum rest period for flight attendants to 10 hours. Previously the minimum rest was only 9 hours in most circumstances. The new requirement prohibits the reduction to less than 10 hours of rest for any reason.
Summary of the rule
The following is a summary of the rule from the rule's entry in the Federal Register:[1]
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This action arises out of a statutory mandate in the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018, which requires rulemaking to increase the minimum rest period for flight attendants in domestic, flag, and supplemental operations who are scheduled for a duty period of 14 hours or less. The statute also requires rulemaking to prohibit reduction of the rest period under any circumstances. Consistent with the statutory mandate, the FAA is amending its regulations to ensure that flight attendants scheduled to a duty period of 14 hours or less are given a scheduled rest period of at least 10 consecutive hours and that the rest period is not reduced under any circumstances.[2] |
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Summary of provisions
The following is a summary of the provisions from the rule's entry in the Federal Register:[1]
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This final rule addresses the requirement of section 335(a) of the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018 (Pub. L. 115–254, 132 Stat. 3186 (Oct. 5, 2018) (the FAARA 2018), codified at 49 U.S.C. 44701 note. Section 335(a) requires the FAA to conduct rulemaking to increase the minimum rest period to 10 hours for flight attendants in domestic, flag, and supplemental operations who are scheduled for a duty period [1] of 14 hours or less; and to prohibit the reduction of the rest period under any circumstances. The FAA's existing regulations require only a nine-hour rest period [2] for these flight attendants, which can be reduced to eight hours in certain circumstances. Consistent with the requirement of section 335(a) of the FAARA 2018, the FAA amends § 121.467(b)(2) and (b)(3) to require 10 hours of consecutive rest, remove the existing allowance for a reduction in rest time, and prohibit reduction of the 10 hours of consecutive rest time under any circumstances.[2] |
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Significant impact
- See also: Significant regulatory action
Executive Order 12866, issued by President Bill Clinton (D) in 1993, directed the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to determine which agency rules qualify as significant rules and thus are subject to OMB review.
Significant rules have had or might have a large impact on the economy, environment, public health, or state or local governments. These actions may also conflict with other rules or presidential priorities. Executive Order 12866 further defined an economically significant rule as a significant rule with an associated economic impact of $100 million or more. Executive Order 14094, issued by President Joe Biden (D) on April 6, 2023, made changes to Executive Order 12866, including referring to economically significant rules as section 3(f)(1) significant rules and raising the monetary threshold for economic significance to $200 million or more.[1]
The text of the Flight Attendant Duty Period Limitations and Rest Requirements rule states that OMB deemed this rule significant, but not economically significant:
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In conducting these analyses, the FAA has determined that this rule: is a “significant regulatory action” as defined in section 3(f) of Executive Order 12866; may have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities; will not create unnecessary obstacles to the foreign commerce of the United States; and will not impose an unfunded mandate on State, local, or tribal governments, or on the private sector.[2] |
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Text of the rule
The full text of the rule is available below:[1]
See also
External links
Footnotes
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