I work for NetJets and about a year ago our company stopped using LOM for a FAA hold. So, we have a handful of pilots who, once they have exhausted PTO days, are now without a paycheck while they wait. Some of these waits have been as long a 2 months. Unfortunately we never codified this in or LOM language and are stuck with this. As this has been a contentious issue, our union mentioned that this is not unheard of. It was published that SWA no longer covers FAA holds too. Is this true?

 

One correction, out PTO time is not usable for this becasue it does not qualify for FMLA. So, if we get a FAA hold, we are on unpaid leave until it is resolved.

 

I have never heard of LOM. I thought the title of the thread had something to do with holding at the locator outer marker.

I have never heard of any pilot at this company having any issues with triggering disability and denied medicals. It's pretty simple...company paid loss of license insurance kicks in after the elimination period once a medial is denied. You use sick and STD (paid by the pilot) to cover the gap and then LTD (pilot paid) to offset loss of earnings.

Now, our disability combo isn't without issues. Due to some IRS ruling, if you are tax free disability (most pilots are), the currently 17 and soon to be 18 percent NEC is paid as cash and does not go into your 401k. Chief pilots have stopped being able to use discretion to pull trips without pay, meaning that some pilots trying to manage sick banks take it in the shorts during the elimination period. Those are probably the two biggest. There are some others for specific circumstances. I would say, though, that under our new contract, our disability programs are pretty good. If a pilot really works it the right way and buys the right combo, they can be set if they are forced to retire medically.

 

where was this “published?”

 

I am not talking about it being denied. The term is FAA hold. More and more items can no longer be decided by your AME and must be ok'd by the FAA. This is where the hold comes from. You have now started the process to renew your medical so your current medical is no longer valid. However, you have a hold on it as the FAA must decide as your AME can not. Usually this requires additional information that must come from specialist and submitted to the FAA. They then take a month or two to decide and you either get your medical, get a special issuance, or are denied your medical. It is in this limbo period where you are screwed. Our plan only covers when your medical is denied, not in a hold. We have a handful of pilots in this situation right now and you can not use your PTO days as it doesn't qualify for FMLA and we are required anyways to notify the company when this happens, so technically if this happened before a vacation period, you couldn't even use that time as paid time off. This is become a bigger deal now. It seems you are almost better off having your medical denied by your AME versus being placed on hold and being deferred to the FAA.

 

I had originally replied, but thought better of it. If you have specific questions, I would reach out to the SWAPA benefits team. You should be able to reach them by phone during normal business hours.

It sounds like you have a pretty specific situation.

I have known pilots at SWA who had conditions requiring special issuance, and the paperwork was generally worked out beforehand with AMAS (contract medical provider) so that it didn't hang up their issuance. Good luck.

 

First stop should be /shouldve been SWAPA benefits team.

 

Really? Seems to me they are delegating more approvals than ever to the AME through their AME assisted special issuance program:
https://www.faa.gov/ame_guide/special_iss/all_classes


That’s sort of the way it’s always been. If you don’t meet criteria all the AME can legally do is defer or deny you. Nothing new about that.

​​​​​​​I imagine your AME will deny you if you ask them.

 

Yes, we have programs in place for short and long term disability coverage ie FAA special issuance situations. Also, “a month or two” hold while the FAA decides is on the very optimistic side.

 

Our union has stated SWA no longer covers FAA medical holds. I am asking if that is true? NetJets initially did, but has rescinded this policy except in extreme cases, for example when a medical board only meets ever other month. As we never codified it in our CBA , we are stuck with it. We have a handful of pilots caught in this quagmire. I almost got caught in it too. Personally, I would now just rather be denied then to have a hold.