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Contract 201
Article 21 – Compensation
Minimum Pay Rules
The Contract 101: Article 21 – RIGs covers a brief introduction to the four Minimum Pay Rules located in Article 21.22 of our Contract. Let’s do a quick refresh of the two trip RIGs and two day RIGs covered in our CBA… and then move on to a little more in-depth conversation on how RIGs protect our time on duty.
“How do I know if my trip has a RIG applied to it??”
You’ll know if a trip RIG (ADG or THR) has been applied to your pairing by an “A” or “T,” respectively, next to your trip pay (example: 19.50A). If a day RIG (DHR or DPM) is applied, you’ll find the day’s pay labeled with either a “D” or “M,” respectively.
NOTE: When looking to pick up a trip (Open Time or TT/GA), keep an eye out for pairings labeled with a “P”. These trips have been broken up by a Flight Attendant and there are restrictions for additional RIG pay!
Note:
When a pairing has a “P” label (trip split by FA), DHR and THR will only kick in if the last flight of the duty period is more than 3 hours late.
If the pairing is labeled with a “Q,” that indicates an original pairing with a RIG applied was split by Scheduling.
A “Q” label will not prevent DHR and THR from automatically being calculated.
We all rely heavily on Payroll Audit to ensure that our paychecks reach our bank accounts on-time… and are for the right amount. But remember, it is always a good idea to double-check that your pay has been calculated correctly. With all the numbers and letters on our trips sheets, auditing your own trip can seem incredibly daunting. But let’s break down *HOW* we’re paid by looking at a couple examples. Let’s get started with the basics and then we’ll move on to the #math.
The first step is knowing where to find the numbers you’ll need on your trip sheet.
To do the math required to calculate DHR and THR, you must remember to convert your minutes into a decimal amount.
For example, Day One of the trip above has a scheduled duty day of 6:25. To calculate DHR, you would NOT multiply 6.25 x 0.74! You would first convert the 25 minutes into a decimal by dividing it by 60 (minutes in an hour).
25 ÷ 60 = 0.417 + 6 (number of hours) = 6.417
To calculate if DHR should apply to Day One:
6.417 x 0.74 = 4.75 TFP
In this example, the leg credits for Day One pay more than DHR.
Now that we know what to look for on our trip sheets, let’s take a look at a couple of trips without the pay calculations and determine what they should pay. This sounds daunting… but here are the steps to complete our task! Grab a #2 pencil and let’s do some math!
Step 3: Determine if DHR would pay more than leg credits and DPM for each day.
DHR says that for every hour on duty, we must be paid at least 0.74 TFP. Let’s convert each day’s minutes to the decimal equivalent and then calculate DHR for those duty days.
Day One: 7:55 hours. 55/60 = 0.917 + 7 = 7.917 x 0.74 TFP = 5.86 TFP
Day Two: 9:35 hours. 35/60 = 0.583 + 9 = 9.583 x 0.74 TFP = 7.09 TFP
Day Three: 11:10 hours. 10/60 = 0.167 + 11 = 11.167 x 0.74 TFP = 8.26 TFP
Step 4: Determine if THR would pay more than leg credits, ADG or other applicable day RIGs.
THR says that no trip can pay less than 1 TFP for every 3 hours away from base. The Time Away From Base (TAFB) on this pairing is 60:55. Convert this time into a decimal for calculation purposes and divide it by 3.
55/60 = 0.917 + 60 (hours) = 60.917 (Time Away From Base) ÷ 3 = 20.31 TFP
Step 5: Determine if ADG would pay more than leg credits, THR and any applicable day RIGs.
ADG says that an original pairing must pay at least 6.50 TFP per the number of assigned days. Because this is a 3-day pairing, it must pay at least 6.50 TFP x 3 = 19.5 TFP.
This pairing will be placed in the bid packet paying 24.4 TFP.
The leg credits (or scheduled flying) pay more than the minimum pay guarantees (or RIGs) in Article 21.22.
Now that we know what to look for on our trip sheets, let’s take a look at a couple of trips without the pay calculations and determine what they should pay. This sounds daunting… but here are the steps to complete our task! Grab a #2 pencil and let’s do some math!
Step 3: Determine if DHR would pay more than leg credits and DPM for each day.
DHR says that for every hour on duty, we must be paid at least 0.74 TFP. Let’s convert each day’s minutes to the decimal equivalent and then calculate DHR for those duty days.
Day One: 9:40 hours. 40/60 = 0.667 + 9 = 9.667 x 0.74 TFP = 7.15 TFP
Day Two: 8:45 hours. 45/60 = 0.75 + 8 = 8.75 x 0.74 TFP = 6.48 TFP
Day Three: 9:55 hours. 55/60 = 0.917 + 9 = 9.917 x 0.74 TFP = 7.34 TFP
Step 4: Determine if THR would pay more than leg credits, ADG or other applicable day RIGs.
THR says that no trip can pay less than 1 TFP for every 3 hours away from base. The Time Away From Base (TAFB) on this pairing is 56:25. Convert this time into a decimal for calculation purposes and divide it by 3.
25/60 = 0.417 + 56 (hours) = 56.417 (Time Away From Base) ÷ 3 = 18.81 TFP
Step 5: Determine if ADG would pay more than leg credits, THR and any applicable day RIGs.
ADG says that an original pairing must pay at least 6.5 TFP per the number of assigned days. Because this is a 3-day pairing, it must pay at least 6.5 TFP x 3 = 19.5 TFP.
This pairing will be placed in the bid packet paying 22.59TFP.
Day One and Day Three will have DHR applied and notated with a “D” next to the day’s pay on the trip sheet.
*** NOTE: Any extension of the duty day can result in additional DHR being added to the calculation! ***
“This is the last day of my trip and I see that the DHR RIG has been applied. I want to give away the turn and commute home early. When I submit the turn in TT/GA, I have to make a choice about splitting the RIG. What do the options mean???”
DHR protects your time on duty each day of flying. This Minimum Pay Rule guarantees compensation that is greater than leg credits (aka your actual flying)… so when you are splitting up that day, the RIG will be “prorated for each piece of the split pairing.” A Flight Attendant who has checked in for a pairing may choose to prorate the RIG per the contractual rules, keep the RIG to themselves or give away all of the RIG to the FA who picks up or trades for the split pairing.
“I picked up this trip and it has a “P” label. If I run late, will DHR be applied?”
This turn has been broken up by a Flight Attendant (“P” labeled). DHR and THR will not be applied unless the last flight of the duty period runs 3:01 hours or more late.
For this pairing, the LAX-OAK flight would have to arrive at or after 0206 to have DHR/THR calculated.
“I just called in sick for this pairing. Why is my Payroll Report only showing 19.2 TFP for sick pay and not 20.4 TFP?”
Because RIGs are intended to protect our time spent on duty, Article 21.22 states that RIGs are paid on actual “trips flown.” This means that when you call in sick, you are paid on leg credits and not RIGs.
“I have a couple random questions… first, in Article 10.9, it says that when making overlap adjustments, Scheduling cannot have me “rejoin the remainder of a pairing that is less than four (4.0) TFP as the result of an overlap adjustment.” Does that have to do with RIGs?”
Actually… yes, it does! Duty Period Minimum (DPM) states that we cannot be compensated less than 4 TFP per day on an original pairing. When making overlap adjustments, pairings can be split in the new month to keep you contractually or FAR legal. However, those adjustments cannot violate the DPM language in Article 21.22.
“When vacation bidding for max pay, do I use leg credits or RIGs to calculate how much I will be paid?”
For vacation pay (and holiday pay!), RIGs are used to calculate your compensation.
“I had an extended duty day of 13:01 hours. How does the EDD premium affect the calculation of my DHR RIG? Does the premium get absorbed into the RIG?”
No. With the ratification of our Pink Contract, the EDD premium pays above applicable RIGs. This means that you day will pay you both the 9.63 TFP (DHR) and 2.30 TFP for the additional premium (2x). This day will pay 11.93 TFP. On your Payroll Report, you’ll find the DHR RIG contained in the “REGULAR” or “REGULAR A” bucket and the premium pay in the “DBL TIME” or “A DBL TIME” bucket.
“I had a gate return today and my pairing has a RIG. How will that affect my pairing pay?”
Gate return pay is paid on top of the leg credits for that day’s compensation. If you have a day RIG (DHR or DPM) or a trip RIG (THR or ADG), you’ll be paid the greater of what you work (including the additional gate return pay) or the RIG, whichever is greater.
“I picked up this pairing for VJA. Why does my Payroll Report only show 6.50 TFP in the ”OVERTIME” bucket… and not 6.91 TFP?”
Our VJA premium is only applied to leg credits and not RIGs. That means you will only be paid 1.5x on the leg credits. 6.50 TFP x 1.5 = 9.75 TFP