This seems to be a healthy debate on reasonable accomodations. C'mon on December 8th.

Looking for that seniority bump huh?

(me too)

Most will find a solid reason to take LTD. They’ll come back when the smoke is gone.

No. I'm looking for an end to this unproductive bickering and "I did my own research" anti-intellectualism.

Nobody here would take man off the street feedback on flying techniques, but the number of people insisting they have any inside immunology knowledge or chops is quite entertaining, if also farcical and sad.

https://images.fineartamerica.com/images-medium-large-5/these-smug-pilots-have-lost-touch-with-regular-will-mcphai.jpg

It can be done. Just need to be very paranoid while doing that. I once worked for a big company where I got roped into security/loss/fraud prevention, and if they got a whiff of fraud they'll go to some length to catch you at it.

LTD for lower back issues? Those telephoto lens shots of you playing 18 holes will probably get you canned.

True there are a lot of conditions which have subjective symptoms and can't really be confirmed or denied by a doc. The problem with most of those is that you may not be able to convince the FAA that you're all good as soon as you're ready to come back to work. That game works better if you're just "retiring" early.

The problem I see with this in regards to medical exemptions from COVID vaccinations is that nothing in either the UPA, nor the LTD policy mention anything about maintaining an FAA physical. It simply states that qualify you are unable to execute the privileges of that certificate due to a medical condition.

The two typically go hand in hand, but in this case the loss of medical is not the medical condition that is preventing them from exercising that certificate, but the result is the same. The language is broad enough to where I think those who qualify would have a legitimate challenge to being placed on unpaid leave for a bona fide medical exemption without the benefit of LTD. I don’t see any force majeure exemptions in the policy either.

What's the basis for the disability being claimed? I have trouble imagining a condition which precludes you from coming to work long-term which would not impact FAA medical certification. Short-term is different, ex a common cold, but you can't call in sick for three years with a cold.

I do imagine the company and insurance provider would fight that...

The basis is by nature of the mandates of the vaccine. Whether mandated by the company or .gov, they cannot comply due to a medical condition and therefore cannot execute the medical certificate due to that medical condition. It’s a small group of folks for sure, but there are going to be people who have something in their medical history to which they shouldn’t get it, but yet have no problems qualifying for a Class I.

I’m sure it would be fought by both the company and the administrators of the policy, although the terms are so broad that it certainly gives someone willing to fight it a case. It would be different if the terms said that if you “lost your medical certificate due to a medical condition,” but it does not.

If you have a medical condition which precludes vaccination, that would be well-documented pre-covid, and there will be an exemption for that.

I don't think they'll let you go out on LTD, I think you'll just be exempt from vaccination... that's the way it's always worked in the past :confused:

If you try to fabricate such a condition, that's going to be harder especially if it suddenly popped up after a vaccine mandate and cannot be confirmed by clinical signs, blood work, etc.

Right now there isn’t. At least with us, it’s the the accommodation of unpaid leave, suspended until the ruling.

I don’t think they’ll say yes to LTD either, I just think those folks probably have a legitimate claim and may actually be successful in fighting it given the terms. I mean realistically, if it’s legit, why shouldn’t they be given it? It’s different if it’s conspiracy driven, but if you really can’t, sure seems valid to me.