Question. If your company calls you in for a fixed wing transport and you complete the transport in the evening, but are unable to fly back due to the pilot timing out and have to stay in a hotel, are you payed for the entire time? Maybe I am wrong, but it seems like if I am being forced to take a fixed wing so far away that I can't return home, I should be paid until I am returned. Am I wrong in my thinking? My company does not pay for the overnight stay in the hotel I was told once the transport is finished.
It’s going to depend on how your company operates. For my company we are paid in the event that happens. They will cover hotel cost, Uber costs, and meal costs. We always try to have a maintenance issue or pilot timing out when we are in Vegas but it usually never happens.
The first facility I flew for in Alaska paid me an hourly rate. That was paid until I returned to town, finished my paperwork and restocked. We also were paid a "per flight bonus" of $100 which was really nice and that added up quickly.
My second flight job in Alaska was for a private company. We were salary employees and were assigned 24 hour shifts or longer depending on which base we were at. One of the bases I worked at was a 2 week on/ 2 week off rotation. So the pay was what the pay was...however it was a decent salary for the amount of work I performed.
Both jobs however always paid for all accommodations and transport. Food was reimbursed later. No alcohol reimbursement.
On a transfer I'm on the clock from the time I leave to the time I come back. We don't stay in hotels unless some kind of insane weather occurs, we will get back by a rental car, commercial flight, et cetera.
If I agree to staff an out of state transport or deployment our hotel gets paid by the organization along with any additional costs like food or transportation, we don't pay out of pocket/get reimbursed. What travel time gets paid for is agreed upon well beforehand.
Some companies will pay either a reduced wage or non-OT accruable hours for those situations. In any case you should be receiving some type of compensation however usually not be your full hourly wage. It also can matter if you are off-duty or "on-call" during that time.
If we are timed out and in a hotel room they will clock us out. It sucks but I understand it from a company stand point. They pay for the hotel and we can submit receipts for food. It is pretty rare for us but it does happen. If we are near a base then they will allow us to be in service as a second crew and help take flights.
Sure. you are forced to stay at work, away from your family, and you are not being permitted to go home. It makes perfect sense from the company standpoint to not pay you, because it's less money they need to give you. It is no different than having to restock your vehicle, finish documentation from a complicated trip, or stay at base for a job-related investigation (NTSB, patient complaint, etc). it makes sense from a company standpoint not to pay you; but that doesn't make it right.
If you want an authoritative answer to the question, I would contact a legal expert, or the federal or state department of labor, hours and wages, and ask then what the law says (instead of just doing what the company can says it does to not pay you).
The GM of our local AMR once said, "you might be sleeping all night, but you're not sleeping in your own bed, so you should be paid a full hourly wage".
That was early in my career and stuck with me. Any employer that has ridiculous sleep time wages, or this scenario here, doesn't get a second look from me.
