EXCESSIVE FLC DUTY TIME.

Narrative

DAY 1 OF A 3-DAY TRIP; MY FO STARTED OUT AT DFW WITH AN XA00 AM SHOW (ON DUTY) TIME FOR A DEADHEAD FLT TO ORD. THE FLT ATTENDANT AND I SHOWED IN ORD AT XB14 PM. IT WAS A TYPICAL BAD WX DAY IN ORD WITH SNOW AND LOW VISIBILITY CAUSING DELAYS ALL DAY LONG. OUT 5TH LEG OF THE DAY FROM ORD TO SPI LEFT ORD 1 HR AND 20 MINS LATE. UPON ARRIVING AT SPI; THE GND CREW INFORMED US THAT THEIR DEICING EQUIP WAS INOP AND THAT THEY COULD NOT REMOVE THE SMALL AMOUNT OF ICE THAT HAD COLLECTED ON OUR LEADING EDGE DURING THE DSCNT INTO SPI. OUR LAST LEG OF THE DAY WAS TO HAVE BEEN FROM SPI TO DEC BUT WAS CANCELED DUE TO THE INOP STATUS OF SPI'S GND DEICING EQUIP. SCHEDULING ASKED US TO TAKE A TAXI TO DEC SO THAT WE WOULD BE IN POS FOR OUR NEXT LEG THE FOLLOWING MORNING. NOTICING THAT THIS WOULD PUT US IN DEC AT XC00 AM. I INFORMED CREW SCHEDULING THAT THIS WOULD PUT MY FO RIGHT AT A 16-HR DUTY DAY. THEY SAID THAT THIS WAS NOT A PROB. THE TAXI TO DEC WAS LATE AND GOT LOST. WE DIDN'T GET TO OUR HOTEL UNTIL XD50 AM -- ALMOST A 17 HR DUTY DAY. SINCE I CALCULATED THAT THE FO IN HIS '24 HR LOOKBACK' COULD ONLY SEE 7 HRS OF REST; I ASSUMED THAT HE WOULD NEED COMPENSATORY REST -- 10 HRS. THAT WOULD HAVE PUT HIS SHOW TIME IN DEC AT XD50 AM. OUR FLT FROM DEC WAS SCHEDULED TO LEAVE AT XD05 AM. AN ABC AIRLINE FLT MGR FROM DFW STATED THAT THE FO DID NOT NEED COMPENSATORY REST AND PRESSURED ME TO GO AT SCHEDULED DEP TIME. THE POI FOR ABC SAYS THIS INTERP OF THE FAR IS CORRECT. FAA LEGAL COUNSEL IN WASHINGTON; DC; SAYS THAT IN THIS CIRCUMSTANCE; THE PLT SHOULD BE GIVEN COMPENSATORY REST. WHY CAN'T WE GET A STRAIGHT ANSWER AND WHY ARE WE WORKING 16 HR DAYS FOLLOWED BY POSSIBLE REDUCED REST? AS CAPT; I SHOULD HAVE NEVER ALLOWED A CREW MEMBER TO FLY WITH A DUBIOUS INTERP OF THE REST REGS.