United Airlines contends that flight attendants appear to be abusing sick time on weekends this summer. It has introduced new reporting requirements it hopes will discourage such behavior. But trying to address this problem through punitive new rules may create an even larger problem for United. So what is United to do?
United Airlines To Flight Attendants: We Want To See Proof You Are Sick If You Take Sick Time
United reports that flight attendants are calling in sick on weekends over the summer at an alarming rate:
We have seen a significant increase in sick calls over weekends this summer. The uptick-as high as 23%-suggests that some flight attendants are misusing sick leave. We never want you to come to work when you’re ill, but misuse of sick time means other flight attendants have to cover those trips, and our customers are at greater risk of travel disruption.
As a result, United is requiring—effective immediately—an “absence certificate” for flight attendants who take a sick day on Friday/Saturday/Sunday “until further notice.”
This increase in sick calls has resulted in the need to require flight attendants to provide verification of an incapacitating illness from an accredited physician when making a sick call. Effective July 21 and until further notice, all flight attendants who call in sick for trips departing/reserve days on Fridays, Saturdays or Sundays are required to submit an absence certificate. This is necessary to prevent the abuse of sick leave from disrupting our operation and to ensure sick leave is being used appropriately so we can cover open trips and avoid cancellations.
If the absence certificate is not received within 72 hours of calling off sick leave, the flight attendant will be subject to disciplinary action up to and including termination of employment.
Historically, United has required such absence certificates when flight attendants call in sick over peak holiday travel periods like the Fourth of July and Christmas.
Union Cries Foul Over New Reporting Requirements
The Association of Flight Attendants (AFA) union representing United flight attendants is up in arms about the new requirements.
Not only is this a willful Contract violation, it is yet another demonstration of management’s lack of respect for Flight Attendants and our contract.
As contract negotiations continue, the AFA lamented the timing of the new measure and how it demonstrates “deteriorating labor relations” between management and union:
Management couldn’t be bothered to wait until this unprecedented crisis was resolved to blatantly violate our Contract; they had to do it right now, in the midst of the chaos. This is a clear indication of just how tone-deaf management is. Upon informing the Union just this afternoon about the new requirement and the forthcoming announcement, MEC President Ken Diaz told them in no uncertain terms it is a violation of our Contract that would be grieved, yet they moved ahead anyway. This is also a reflection of the ongoing state of deteriorating labor relations within the company.
It will file a grievance (a formal complaint) concerning the policy, but that will not stop the policy from going into effect until the grievance is resolved.
The Service Dog Analogy
I struggle over whether to reluctantly support or reject these new requirements. No worker should feel compelled to come to work sick. No company should have to tolerate workers who lie about being sick in order to enjoy extra time off.
United has handled this issue the way I would handle service dogs. As I’ve written about repeatedly, I have noted a proliferation in poorly-behaved “service dogs” onboard. There are a number of approaches to this problem. One would be to ban all dogs. That’s about as practical as banning flight attendants from calling in sick on weekends.
At the other end is maintaining the status quo, which is leading to continued and escalating abuse.
The “happy medium” seems to be that you need more documentation to claim a benefit, in light of the abuse. Will there be good and decent flight attendants caught in the fray? Oh yes.
But the blame should not be on United, but on their colleagues for cheating the system. A 23% uptick in people calling in sick…only on weekends? Come on now, that should not have to be tolerated by any employer.
But it’s those individual cases that make it so difficult. It’s not easy to get a same-day appointment anywhere. Going into an urgent care center and sitting there for an hour to get a doctor or PA or NP to say, “Oh yeah, you have a fever. Just rest” seems so counterproductive. And flight attendants domiciled in California, where this sort of thing seems to be illegal, may be uniquely suited to fight this requirement.
But again, what else is United supposed to do? It should not have to incentivize people to do the work they are paid for and it strikes me as a bit like democracy, the “least worst” system among alternatives.
And sorry, but employees who are up in arms about having to surrender such personal information are working for a company that demanded each employee be vaccinated (and the AFA cheered) and a form that has been around for years for sick leave over holiday periods…this is no surprise.
CONCLUSION
United Airlines flight attendants are now required to submit a “doctor’s note” when they call in sick on weekends. United says this is necessary in order to address a surge in flight attendants calling sick over the weekends this summer.
I realize this whole discussion is foreign and perhaps obscene to our readers in Europe…but I saw the abuse of sick policy when I worked in Germany and I’m not sure the “ask no questions” approach is better.
Ultimately, I think when you treat employees well, they won’t game the system. I suspect that flight attendants will be less likely to engage in such behavior when they secure a new contract.
That doesn’t in any way condone the current antics of flight attendants calling in sick because they want a day off (which could even be seen as an illegal work slow down). But when there is mutual respect, there is no need for such measures…the bad apple should be pruned by co-workers.
Yes, the union rues:
All those meaningless phrases like, “Good Leads the Way” and “Core4”, continue to be just that, meaningless. Management’s actions are reprehensible. While extremely frustrating, management has made up and then implemented these new rules in violation of our Contract, but we must comply with them in order to avoid management taking “disciplinary action up to and including termination of employment.”
But ultimately, I didn’t see the union telling its members not to abuse the sick policy…
If there is a not a valid contract between the union and management, aren’t the union employees effectively employment at will?
Meaning management sets the terms, the employees must follow or they are free to find themselves another job
The old CBA is simply amenable, not bill and void. There is no expiration date on it.
Common Sense : If one fakes being sick , with a pretend-headache , termination immediately .
If one fakes being well , when actually sick with plague , rabies , covid , or leprosy , termination immediately .
If one is actually well , report to work .
If one is actually sick , go to hospital and have a hospital record ; no internet letters accepted .
Suspect that the AFA used the phrase ” in the midst of this chaos” in the response . Because intermittent chaos was also a term the AFA proposed as a flight attendant disruption protest.
What is the union’s solution?
Could it be management went to union leadership and said we have a problem. Let’s fix it. If the union didn’t do anything, replied with a bunch of unreasonable demands, or told them to go to hell then they got what they deserve.
The union needs to protect the flight attendants for their right to call in sick. The airline needs to have float pool / reserve staff to replace sick-time workers
The airline is obviously trying to protect its profits because canceling a flight due to lack of staff costs them in the 10s of thousands of dollars.
I think the problem United will have is when they try to implement corrective action up to an including termination. If the contract with the AFA explicitly states flight attendants need proper documentation over the Christmas, 4th of July, Thanksgiving holidays or else, United can not now take that same language and apply it to all weekends simply because of a 23% increase in call outs. I’m not one to normally agree with the AFA but on this issue even though there’s obvious abuse taking place the way to solve the abuse is through contract negotiations and having it in writing that is one of the points of having union protection. Delta Airlines can implement this type of rule as they don’t have a union but United will for sure run into issues at the local level because all the union steward has to say during an investigation is show me where this flight attendant violated the contract as written and agreed upon.
The only way I can see any FA being fired or having any disciplinary action stick is if that particular FA has chronic pattern of calling out sick only on weekends. If a flight attendant who has no pattern of calling out sick on weekends all of sudden call out and doesn’t present a doctors note good union stewards would be able to successfully defend that FA against any disciplinary action.
This is a moot point. If you want a day off, just call a doctor on telemed. Ten minutes after you say “I feel ill” they will say “no problem, certificate on the way in a PDF.”
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With protracted contract negotiations between UA and the AFA, I can’t help but wonder if this is some job action to get UA managements attention?