Airline Group Sues Over Michigan’s Expanded Sick Time Law

An airline trade group, after successfully taking on paid sick time laws in other states, now has its sights set on Michigan.

Airlines for America said Michigan’s new law—which expands the reasons workers can call off and guarantees at least 72 hours of paid sick time annually—is preempted by the federal Airline Deregulation Act and shouldn’t apply to airlines’ flight and ground crews.

The law “encourages employees to use and potentially abuse sick leave, and thus to be absent from work more frequently,” according to the lawsuit filed Dec. 31 in the US District Court for the Western District of ...