Originally Posted by WHACKMASTER (Post 2761727)

Bingo. It’s the FAA that puts the burden on me to decide fitness for flight. It’s an earned benefit as previously stated and quite frankly none of the company's damn business on why I was unfit to fly. Getting in a fight with your wife, worrying about a child’s situation, death of a family member or friend, etc., could all be reasons why I’m not fit to sign the release that day. NONE OF THE COMPANY’S BUSINESS.

Originally Posted by Skyward (Post 2761516)

Umm, we’re talking about calling in sick and being harassed by the company not the sharing of medical records and mental health. Who said anything about a constitutional right to fly a plane?

Originally Posted by OOfff (Post 2761733)

It’s the company, however, who decides to pay you instead of making that sick time off unpaid.

Originally Posted by WHACKMASTER (Post 2761727)

Bingo. It’s the FAA that puts the burden on me to decide fitness for flight. It’s an earned benefit as previously stated and quite frankly none of the company's damn business on why I was unfit to fly. Getting in a fight with your wife, worrying about a child’s situation, death of a family member or friend, etc., could all be reasons why I’m not fit to sign the release that day. NONE OF THE COMPANY’S BUSINESS.

Originally Posted by flyinghedgehog (Post 2761194)

See I really don't mind the notes. If I am sick I always go to the doctor and always get a note just in case. What I mind is when they say the call counts as an occurrence regardless of nature and you start getting phone calls from management and/ or disciplinary hearing once you accrue so many occurrences/points and warning letters are placed in your file.

Originally Posted by KC135 (Post 2762002)

It's a necessary evil. These airlines are trying to run a business and the few people that have abused it in the past are the reason we have the sick policies. Banging out more than 5 times a year for legitimately being sick isn't common for somebody healthy but it can happen. Keep some documentation in that rare situation and you'll be fine.

Originally Posted by Rahlifer (Post 2762086)

I don’t know if there’s any “magic” number above which sick calls should automatically be labeled as abusive. Pilots tend to be relatively healthy, but we are literally locked in a metal tube, breathing recycled air with hundreds of other people of unknown health status for a vast majority of our working hours.

Originally Posted by Excargodog (Post 2761535)

I did. You don’t have one. And loss of personal privacy and freedom as a condition of flying even as a passenger is a given for every person we fly and for those crew randomly selected as the sacrificial animals for known crew member. And for crew members who get hit with random (or directed) DOT drug checks.

Inappropriate or fraudulent use of sick leave by crew members is a valid concern for both the union and management, while concealment of medical problems is a concern to the FAA and general public. If we aren’t willing to address these problems on a cooperative basis, ultimately they will be addressed on a dogmatic one.

Originally Posted by Baradium (Post 2761298)

Everywhere I've worked at that could ever require sick notes would also reimburse your side of the costs since the company was requiring it.