As I am winding down my career, I really tried to stay out of the forum fray this time around, but...

The changes in Section 14 – “Sick Leave” under this TA seem particularly onerous and punitive to me. If a small percentage of pilots are abusing sick leave, why punish the whole group?

Under the current PWA, if I sprain an ankle and I’m out three weeks, missing three 5-day trips, I get a doctor’s note and I still have 100 hours of unverified sick leave available.

Under the TA, if I sprain an ankle and I’m out three weeks, I don’t have the option to verify. Those three trips count against my 15 day “Verification Threshold.”

If I subsequently have a cold this winter, I’m required to go to the doctor’s office to get a “QHCP” to verify I have a cold – ridiculous!

So, it is not just a reduction from 100 hours of unverified sick leave to 15 days/80ish hours under this TA. The removal of voluntary verification is HUGE!

Also, be aware that the FAA recently changed the mandatory waiting time between the last dose of potentially sedating or cognitively impairing medications and the performance of flight duties. This was discussed in the “DELTA MEC SAFETY SHORT SHOTS” 15-05 publication as well as the April 2015 ALPA Magazine.

The former rule was to wait only “two dosing intervals,” but now you are required to wait “five dosing periods or five half-lives” of the medication, whichever is longer.

As an example, for Benadryl or “diphenhydramine” that means 60 hours and for cough meds that contain “dextromethorphan” it means 48 hours.

Bottom line is that will mean you are out sick for a longer period of time making it more likely you will meet the “Verification Threshold” requirement under this TA. Once you meet it, you will be going to the doctor for verification of any minor illness, like a cold, just to get paid.

Solid NO from me...