Originally Posted by
acl65pilot
Depressed is a whole different animal wrt to pilots and I would be very careful in using that.
Tired, falls under fatigue here at DAL. Now if you are tired because you had a head cold and could not sleep all night, then realize what is the culprit.
Read the memo sent out by your union. It is what is allowed per the PWA. You can just tell them that you are sick. It states "general nature" not "specific" illness.
They can require you to get a doctor's note per the PWA, but have not been doing that. That does not mean that they may not start.
You can always state that you lack the confidence to pass gas.
They have seen sick time spike, and want to address it. They are aware of the HIPPA laws and will go no where near something that is a violation of your rights.
I think the memo stated that you could tell them you were self medicating and that you were never required to visit a doctor, ie, they couldn't tell you to see a doctor if you didn't see the need for it yourself. In that case, you were to write a letter stating the nature of your illness.
When I get sick, it's usually a sore throat, head cold, or I'm spewing gravy (Al Bundy gets credit for that one). Not going to see a doctor for any of those unless I think I might get dehydrated.
I try to keep my hands clean on the road, but I'm pretty sure 90% of my sicknesses are caused by eating in the cockpit.