Originally Posted by
johnso29
There are now parameters that have to be met. There have been very few Good Faith calls, & DALPA is very aware of them. After talking with my Rep for over 1 hour, I'm confident that DALPA is engaging the company on the details of the new sick policy.
Originally Posted by
GunshipGuy
What are those parameters? My reading of the PWA allows for the company to call "when individual circumstances exist." As far as I can tell that's undefined, so the CPO can call for verification when he chooses as long as they've been given a "good faith basis." Again, no parameters stated in the PWA.
Originally Posted by
johnso29
Incorrect. The parameters are absences exceeding 15 days or if over 100 hours has been used. As I said, as of last week only 31 Good Faith calls had been made. And from the conversation I've had with several reps from different bases, the union is not lying down on this. There pushing back on those calls as it is.
You're correct in that section 14 F.3 has parameters before verification is required, but that's not the whole story. You should realize 14 F.4 (below) is separate from F.3 and does not require a pilot to reach those numbers before the CP makes his inquiry.
4 4. When individual circumstances exist that give the Company a good faith basis to inquire
5 regarding the medical reason for a pilot’s use of sick leave, such pilot may be required to
6 state the nature of his illness in general terms to his Chief Pilot. Following such
7 discussion, the Chief Pilot may:
8 a. consider the current sick leave occurrence to be verified, or
9 b. require verification of sickness from the pilot under Section 14 F. 2.
10 Note: Such individual circumstances may not be derived solely from the amount of sick
11 leave used by the pilot or the frequency of his sick occurrences.
I don't see any parameters there, and to me it seems the CP is well within his right to call and inquire as to why a pilot called in sick. And then if the CP wanted the pilot to back it up with a doctors visit he could.
My background and experience was you flew unless you were sick. If you were sick then you went to see a doctor and he documented the event. I'm not bemoaning the language, but I do read it as giving the CP a lot of latitude to verify sick usage. The language in the old PWA pretty much gave them the same right.