Originally Posted by DARR31

They are also doing this with mil leave as I found out with a call from the CPO last month. They are monitoring everything.....

Originally Posted by Banzai

Um, if they're going to hire Reservists/Guardsmen, then mil leave is going to happen. I don't understand why this would be treated like sick leave abuse...

Originally Posted by MikeF16

Because they're using it when there is no military obligation?

Originally Posted by Puddyhog

There was mention on this thread previously of a document called "What to do when scheduling calls" - there was also a mention of it in Indoc, but I can't find it on the ALPA site nor (obviously) Deltanet. Anyone ever seen/heard of this? Can you share a link?

Originally Posted by Banzai

A Reservist is REQUIRED to do X days of IDT per year. For much of that status, productive form of duty is defined.

Unless a unit itself is aiding a scam, then every day of IDT worked is a requirement/obligation. And under USERRA, you still eventually "owe" that time to the airline. It's just deferred.

Originally Posted by gloopy

That seems reasonable on the surface, yet can quickly become unreasonable. What if you have kids in daycare/school. Suddenly it makes sense that you may pick something up around the same time per year. What if you have an annual vacation to a particular place and there's some allergen there you're not fully aware of that manifests itself after you get back. Even the "once a quarter" thing can easily be a false positive. Each season comes with its own elevated risk factors for colds, flus and allergens. Add to that we travel all over the place and are stuck in tiny tubes with a zillion strangers who also travel all over the place, force multiplied by constant circadian disruptions, daily radical changes in climate, strange bathrooms, doorknobs, food, currency, etc constantly, etc. Add to that kids (exposed to other kids) and spouses, many of which work in travel, school, healthcare, retail, etc. Add to that a myriad of completely legitimate things that won't be "verifiable" to a doctor. Minor nausea that can't be traced? Slight headache? Better call the Mayo Clinic and go in for full MRI's. Too upset about something at home to safely fly? Gee maybe you should go to a psychologist and get a formal diagnosis.

Then force multiply that with one of the toughest and most restricted standards of "calling in sick" in the world. We have to. We can't just pop an OTC and ironman it like almost everyone else can.

Bottom line is there is no way we can ever have a system, ever, that eliminates all possibilities of "abuse" (even if that's being used right) because they system itself has to be open and flexibile enough in the first place. Doctors notes for everything will not cut it. That is flat out intimidation that will reduce sick calls but will result in pilots flying sick.

The current system is plenty restrictive enough. At the end of the day it comes down to personal integrity and the cost of doing business. What's better and safer: when in doubt call in sick, or when in doubt don't call in sick? The answer is obvious. This isn't just about flying or staying at home with pneumonia or the flu. That's obvious. This is about the myriad of times different pilots in different situations don't feel well enough to fly due to the IMSAFE checklist, but out of fear they will be punished if some "company doctor" can't prove it in all cases they'll just show up to fly. We can't have that, period! We should resist any further attempts to intimidate pilots from calling in sick. We are plenty productive enough, and safety trumps productivity anyway.

Originally Posted by Denny Crane

Just to play devils advocate, if what you say above actually came true, how would the airline staff for holidays?
Denny