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Brothers and Sisters,
On Friday, we told you that NATCA had filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia on behalf of our members who have not been paid for their work since the FAA's appropriations lapsed in late December. The judge granted our request for an expedited hearing. The hearing was scheduled for today Jan. 14 at noon EST. However, due to the snowstorm in D.C., the hearing has been rescheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 15 at noon.
As we wrote in the message on Friday, the hearing is on our motion for a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) against the United States government for its violation of the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution. We have alleged that the government unlawfully deprived NATCA members of your earned wages without due process. If the judge agrees that immediate action must be taken and grants our motion for a TRO, he has the ability to craft an appropriate remedy consistent with our claim. If the judge denies our motion, we will continue to pursue a preliminary injunction against the government on our Fifth Amendment claim as well as the other aspects of our lawsuit.
We also allege violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) for failure to pay at least the minimum wage to air traffic controllers and other NATCA members who are excepted from the furloughs during the government shutdown. Finally, we allege that the FAA failed to promptly pay overtime to NATCA members in violation of the FLSA. NATCA is seeking an order requiring the government to pay our members for the work they have performed as well as liquidated damages.
We anticipate that the judge will issue a decision from the bench on our motion for a TRO. We will provide you with an update after the hearing.
In Solidarity,
The National Executive Board
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