No, I'm not. Haven't flown a trip since early July 2016. Does that make me a sick leave abuser? No, I'm dealing with harsh reality. And I'm not alone. Prior to my extended absence, I was a pretty heavy user of sick benefits - nothing related to why I'm out now. It was all legit, but I had to play silly games with verification in circumstances where my own fitness for flight judgement should have sufficed. I know I flew when I should not have, due to the nuances of verification requirements. On those occasions, did I take a risk (of ear/sinus pressure equalization issues, mainly) or expose my coworkers to germs? Very likely. It's beyond reason to be pressured in such a manner. Sure you can say "it only impacts x (insert small number) percent of the pilot group," but I'm quite certain the looming psychological impact of onerous verification mandates will influence the decision-making of a larger pilot demographic. And in turn lead to unnecessary germ-sharing out on the line.

My rant is water under the bridge at this point. But one thing I'd like to express for anybody's consideration: you don't know what others face in terms of health challenges unless you walk in their shoes. Our sick verification policy dilutes a pilot's right and obligation to self-screen for fitness to fly. End of story. You can rationalize it by saying " wow, you can get a month-plus off without verification" or "this just impacts a few pilots." Be glad it's not you. Before supporting additional erosion of sick benefits in a future TA, consider that it could be you at some point , and reject the proposal.