Originally Posted by Excargodog

Doctors know that as well as HR people. This is an issue that I’m sort of schizophrenic about. In the USAf flyers get a 1042 when they see the flight surgeon to take them off flying and another one to put them back on. It doesn’t say anything except whatever duty restriction was warranted. The PRP program for flyers and nonflyers was run the same way, with a doctor making the decision whether or not anybody could be around special weapons. People could also be put on quarters, and the commander really didn’t have anything to say about it, barring all-out war. Nor did they get any info that would have violated HIPPA. But that was the military, who was paying for the whole thing, including the healthcare. And I haven’t noticed any hard points on CRJs or ERJs suitable for carriage of a B-61-12.

Nonetheless, I can understand concerns. Nobody has a right to fly an airplane, far less to fly one full of passengers for hire. The month seldom passes that some pilot somewhere doesn’t get picked up for trying to fly while intoxicated. Frequent absences are often a strong indicator of someone with an alcohol or mental health issue. Nobody wants another Germanwings-like incident with them or their loved ones on the aircraft.

And even besides that, every time someone does abuse their sick leave - even to make it to a job fair or interview - they are at least to an extent screwing over the people that have to cover for them as well as the people who have to come up with a solution for the shortfall.

This really seems like something the union and management people ought to sit down and negotiate and come up with a reasonable way to do this because I don’t see labor and management necessarily being on different sides of this issue. There ought to be a way that both can agree to respect the medical confidentiality but still make sure abuse of the sick leave system, either for individual gain or for concealing safety related issues, is minimized.

Anyone taking too dogmatic a stand either way is sort of suspect, in my mind at least. We ought to be able to hammer out a way to do this that protects everyone’s interest.