AFW_MD11

DOCKING PAY OF SICK PILOTS RULED ILLEGAL: The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued three rulings recently. All found that American Airlines retaliated against three pilots for reporting that they were too sick to fly and ordered AA to fully reimburse those pilots. As part of their abusive sick policy, AA management rejected the medical documentation that these pilots provided upon request and later deducted disputed sick pay amounts from their paychecks.

With counsel and representation provided by APA, these pilots filed a complaint with the OSHA. The subsequent investigation found merit with the pilot’s complaints and ordered AA to abate the violations by reimbursing the pilots for the sick time with interest and reimbursing any other benefits associated with that sick time. Additionally, the airline was ordered to post whistleblower rights posters.

Robert D. Kulick, a regional administrator for OSHA’s New York region, ruled that, “A policy that forces pilots to make a choice between flying when they are too sick to do so and being retaliated against, violates the law.” The complaint was filed under an aviation industry whistleblower law known as AIR21.

We applaud the U.S. Department of Labor and OSHA for their recognition of AA management’s oppressive practices and for defending our pilots’ obligation to safety through self determination of personal fitness to fly.