Originally Posted by
OOfff
it is that simple. it will be a very high cost negotiating item and it would harm other possible gains greatly to seek it. no thanks, i'd rather see gains elsewhere
I agree.
The PWA already covers this. We just have a recalcitrant management group with utter disdain for the pilot group.
14.A.17. Sickness means any personal medical condition of a pilot, physical or mental, that disables the pilot from performing duties as a flight crew member.
The FAA refers to fitness to perform duties as a flight crew member in the IMSAFE acronym. So we have a regulatory agency that dictates an personal assessment what makes us fit to perform flight crew duties. The PWA definition of sickness covers all of the IMSAFE. So us using sick time for anything that falls within IMSAFE is valid, PWA sickness. This has been tested in court before (see ancman's) post. So we should not change behavior, take sick time if you fail any of the test of IMSAFE. The company can't do squat other than shake their fists, scream at the clouds and send out strongly worded letters.
Further, 14.F.4 Note states (pertaining to GFB) "such individual circumstances may not be derived solely from the amount of sick leave used by the pilot or the frequency of their sick leave occurances."
Also a GFB does not always require verification from a QHCP. The CPO can, based on the GFB call and your description of the illness in "general terms" decide if it's verified or go down the QHCP route. Seems they always default to 14.F.4.b