By Randy Estes, October 8, 2026
“I am a paramedic for an aviation firm that services offshore oil rigs and ships. Am I entitled to overtime?”
Maybe – but this is one of the trickiest overtime questions we get. Most paramedics are entitled to overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Being a paramedic is not what puts your overtime in doubt. Working for an aviation company is.
Federal law contains a special exemption for employees of air carriers. If your employer qualifies, you may have no right to overtime under federal law, no matter how many hours you work. If it doesn’t qualify – or if you are actually employed by someone other than the air carrier – you may be owed a lot of money. The answer turns on facts about your employer and your job, not your job title.
The Air Carrier Exemption
The FLSA normally requires time-and-a-half for every hour over 40 in a workweek. But Section 13(b)(3) of the Act, 29 U.S.C. § 213(b)(3), says the overtime rules do not apply to “any employee of a carrier by air subject to the provisions of title II of the Railway Labor Act.”
The Railway Labor Act (RLA) covers common carriers by air engaged in interstate or foreign commerce. Congress brought airlines under the RLA’s own labor system in the 1930s, and when it passed the FLSA it left their employees out of the overtime rules.
Three things about this exemption surprise workers:
- It covers more than pilots and flight attendants. It can reach any employee of the carrier whose work is tied to its air transportation – mechanics, loadmasters, and flight medical crews.
- You don’t have to be in a union. Courts have applied it to non-union employees with no collective bargaining agreement, as the Tenth Circuit did in an unpublished 2004 decision involving an air ambulance paramedic and nurse. Osborne v. Enchantment Aviation, Inc., No. 03-2271 (10th Cir. Oct. 12, 2004).
- Salary and pay structure don’t matter. Unlike the “white-collar” exemptions, the air carrier exemption has no salary test.
Air ambulance employers have used this exemption successfully. In Riegelsberger v. Air Evac EMS, Inc., 369 F. Supp. 3d 901 (E.D. Mo. 2019), a federal court granted summary judgment to a helicopter air ambulance company, holding that it was a common carrier by air and that its flight paramedic was not owed FLSA overtime. Closer to home, in Mosley v. Bristow U.S., LLC, No. 2:23-cv-02674 (E.D. La.), a New Orleans federal judge reportedly ruled in April 2025 that a search-and-rescue helicopter company was a common carrier by air, ending the workers’ proposed overtime collective action against it.
Is Your Employer Really an “Air Carrier”?
This is where your case is won or lost. The exemption is an affirmative defense, so your employer has the burden of proving it applies. The judge in Mosley refused to dismiss the case in October 2023 for exactly that reason and let the workers take discovery first. Questions we look at include:
- Does the company hold itself out to the public? The Fifth Circuit, which covers Louisiana, asks whether the carrier has held itself out to the public, or to a definable segment of it, as willing to transport for hire, indiscriminately. Thibodeaux v. Executive Jet Int’l, Inc., 328 F.3d 742 (5th Cir. 2003). A company that markets helicopter transport to any oil and gas operator willing to pay can meet that test. A company that flies only for one customer under one private contract has a stronger argument that it is a private carrier, not a common carrier.
- Who actually employs you? The exemption covers employees of the carrier. Many offshore medics are hired through a medical staffing or remote-medicine company that is separate from the helicopter operator. If your paycheck comes from a company that does not fly aircraft, its exemption claim may be weaker – though employers will argue that affiliated companies count as part of the carrier. In Thibodeaux, the Fifth Circuit looked at the whole air transportation program rather than just the one company that employed the plaintiffs.
- Is your work tied to air transportation? Under Department of Labor enforcement policy at 29 C.F.R. § 786.1, the exemption is treated as applying unless the nonexempt work you do is substantial, meaning more than 20% of your workweek. A paramedic who rides the aircraft and treats patients in flight is doing transportation-related work. A medic who spends most of the hitch staffing a clinic on a platform, doing safety drills, or handling drug testing may not be.
The Fifth Circuit has also made clear that FAA labels are not decisive. In Thibodeaux, the court said the common-carrier test looks at what the company actually does, not whether its flights run under FAA Part 91 or Part 135.
The Other Exemptions Usually Don’t Fit Paramedics
If your employer can’t prove the air carrier exemption, it will have a hard time denying you overtime on other grounds.
- “Professional” and “executive” exemptions. Department of Labor regulations say these white-collar exemptions do not apply to paramedics, EMTs, ambulance personnel, and rescue workers, regardless of rank or pay. 29 C.F.R. § 541.3(b). Being a “lead” medic or holding a degree does not change that.
- Being paid a salary. A salary alone never makes you exempt. See our post, I’m Paid a Salary. Does That Mean I Don’t Get Overtime Pay?
- The “seaman” exemption. Some offshore employers try this one. It is aimed at crew whose work serves a vessel’s navigation, and it rarely fits a medic employed by an aviation company.
Other Things Offshore Medics Should Know
- Minimum wage still applies. The air carrier exemption removes overtime only. Even an exempt employee must earn at least the federal minimum wage for all hours worked.
- Long hitches and on-call time. If you work 14-day or 21-day hitches on 12-hour shifts, the hours add up fast. Time you must spend on standby, ready to fly, can be compensable work time even if you aren’t treating a patient. The workers in Mosley, for example, alleged they worked at least 12 hours a day but were allowed to log less.
- Day rates. A day rate is not a salary. In Helix Energy Solutions Group, Inc. v. Hewitt, 598 U.S. 39 (2023), the U.S. Supreme Court held that a worker paid by the day – even one earning over $200,000 a year – was not paid on a salary basis. See our post on oilfield workers and overtime.
- Louisiana has no state overtime law. Your overtime rights come from the FLSA, so whether the federal exemption applies usually decides the case.
- Deadlines. FLSA claims generally must be filed within two years, or three years if the violation was willful. Each pay period you wait, older wages drop out of reach.
What You Should Do
Don’t assume the answer is “no” just because you work for an aviation company – and don’t assume it’s “yes” just because you’re a paramedic. Gather what you can:
- Your offer letter, pay stubs, and any written overtime policy
- The exact name of the company that issues your W-2
- Your hitch schedule and a rough log of the hours you actually worked
- A description of how your time splits between flying, platform or vessel duty, and other tasks
Then talk to a wage and hour lawyer who knows the offshore industry. At Estes Davis Law, we represent Louisiana workers in overtime claims, including offshore workers. Call Estes Davis Law at (225) 336-3394 for a free, confidential consultation. Se habla español.
This article is general information about Louisiana law and is not legal advice. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome; every case depends on its own facts. For advice about your situation, please consult an attorney.
Sources
- 29 U.S.C. § 213 (FLSA exemptions)
- Thibodeaux v. Executive Jet Int’l, Inc., 328 F.3d 742 (5th Cir. 2003)
- Osborne v. Enchantment Aviation, Inc., No. 03-2271 (10th Cir. Oct. 12, 2004) (unpublished)
- Riegelsberger v. Air Evac EMS, Inc., 369 F. Supp. 3d 901 (E.D. Mo. 2019)
- Mosley v. Bristow U.S., LLC, No. 2:23-cv-02674 (E.D. La.)
- Helix Energy Solutions Group, Inc. v. Hewitt, 598 U.S. 39 (2023)
- 29 C.F.R. §§ 541.3, 786.1
