I shared earlier that United Airlines unilaterally imposed new conditions on sick time that flight attendants had earned, demanding that any cabin crew calling in sick on a Friday through Sunday must submit documentation to the airline from a doctor to substantiate the absence.
The airline said they had to do this because of an uptick (as much as 23%) in sick calls over weekends this summer. The union says they’ll file a grievance, because this isn’t allowed under their contract – only for the July 4th and Christmas holidays, and not all weekends until further notice.
Even if it isn’t permitted, and even if the union eventually wins, this will likely scare many flight attendants:
- Not to call out sick when they aren’t sick enough to obtain medical paperwork
- To show up sick and work, spreading viruses to other employees and customers, because of the hassle and cost of getting an urgent medical appointment.
To be clear, though, because I wasn’t explicit enough earlier: this absence certificate being required by the airline is extensive and invasive, demanding personal health information including a “treatment plan” and “progress of treatment” that is highly unusual to share with any employer – let alone for merely taking a sick day that an employee is contractually entitled to when sick.
Here is a copy of the form:
Flight attendants who won’t share personal medical information with the airline but don’t work sick are being threatened with termination. Demanding this information unless “particulars of treatment…are job-related and necessary for the conduct of business” has been deemed illegal and resulted in substantial fines in the past. California-based flight attendants likely have even stronger state-level claims.
The lack of respect demonstrated with this policy is disappointing. It’s hard to imagine how gross the working culture must be.
Well that’s kind of harsh…..
Just to be clear, that is the standard form that UAL has requested from flight attendants (and other employees) for years. The only new part is requesting it for predetermined dates other than holidays. Inflight managers were always within their rights to request that form for individual medical absences.
I run two companies and honestly, we already know the employees who are actually sick and those who abuse the policy, even without asking any information. It’s really simple to tell.
The issue is that for a private, non-union company like mine, we can easily push out those who are abusing the policy. For a major airline, they have to take drastic steps due to the insane protections that are afforded to employees by unions.
The 23% increase in sick call outs doesn’t lie. People are abusing. The question should be, how to get rid of them without this crazy process?
Dear coke machines / you have been abusing sickness leave and causing disruption to the company and your peers. Today we are taking corrective action against that.
FIFY.
To add fuel to the fire, United sent this email to their Flight Attendants in the midst of a major meltdown. Crews were stranded, sleeping on airplanes, in airport terminals with no assistance from United.
Welp , we know who will be getting sued lmfao. I don’t see this lasting long
You also did not mention in your article they are being told this is required even with FMLA…
For many of us, rigid absenteeism rules are the norm and have been for decades. I’ve accepted those workplace demands in return for an excellent salary and great benefits.
In this era of Teledoc appointments, having an absentee certificate completed by a physician shouldn’t be an issue.
Anyone commenting
stating that this is the norm for most industries is wrong and out of touch with reality. Also completely illegal in California and other states
Wait….personal health information is too invasive yet mandating a vaccination to work isn’t? I suddenly should have a choice to provide information but you forced a medical product into my body was OK by this very blog to keep my job?
No company should require this of everyone in every case. I think it’s fair to ask this of employees that call in sick on weekend shifts more than let’s say 5 time over the previous year. Blanket policies like these are demoralizing for no real benefit.
@kimmiea- except Teledoc is not acceptable. This form requires that the flight attendant be seen in person.
Over-hired thanks to Boeing delivery problems, eroding margins and softening demand. Cut out some headcount deadwood before resorting to more expensive RIF measures.
United and all airlines MUST put service and employees ahead of corporate and share holder bonuses. This is the original problem. Run a service oriented airline. Take care of the people that take care of your customers. United has shown that it doesn’t care about it’s employees and that trickles down and affects service.
The historic absenteeism during the summer with flight attendants and pilots is staggering. Some people don’t know when to leave when they hate their jobs. 23%. Not surprising for those forced to engage with these people. Seeking industry leading pay for indifferent service. Kudos to the ones out there still doing their job as required and more.
When litigation costs are factored in it would probably cost United less to hire investigative resources to catch the employees who are actually faking it . . . unless the union would file a grievance for them as well.
I’m willing to bet the headcount is too high in light of Boeing delivery delays, softening demand and margins. This is a cheap way to reduce payroll before resorting to more expensive RIF measures.
@Walter, perhaps you’ve missed it but the “coke machines” are the ones who have been keeping people safe during recent emergency events. They’re the first line of defense for pilots against unruly passengers and they put your safety above theirs in emergency situations. Next flight you’re on make sure you call them a “coke machine” so they know the level of service to provide you, and if you find yourself in an emergency make sure not to ask for any assistance. Congrats on showing how uneducated and unappreciative of a flying passenger you are. No wonder flight attendants aren’t wanting to work with passengers like you.
That is some serious BS. Who wants to fly with a sick flight attendant? Who wants to fly with a flight attendant who needs a mental health day and now feels like they can’t take it or who isn’t willing to jump through the hoops of getting this form filled out during their non working hours? So, if they are really sick and need to see a doctor to return to work but can’t have the form filled out by said doctor when they were scheduled to work….? Just another example of corporate management being completely out of touch.
United management really stepping on a rake here. Great way to give public sympathy to the union going into strike vote authorization and ensure most vote yes….
It is no surprise that United chose to escalate this issue since it, like Delta, is in the third day of its operational meltdown.
Unlike Delta which threw its IT under the bus, UA threw its employees under the bus. And that tells you volumes about the difference between DL and UA and why UA FAs need a union and why DL FAs laugh when they see what union organizers say they can do and what they are actually able to deliver.
The AFA will throw its fist in the air, the company will throw the grievance in a file, and then slide the file across the negotiating table for a new contract with a price tag of $X million to rehire the FAs that UA is on the verge of firing.
And UA FAs will end up with less than industry leading because that is the way unionized labor-mgmt negotiations work.
We’ve seen this time and time again and so too have DL FAs which is why they want nothing to do with a union and have more opportunities to vote against the union than just about every other American worker.
What’s next, having to raise their hands and ask permission to use the toilet? These are trained professionals. If there’s a problem with someone then deal with it but instituting elementary school level policies is ridiculous. Maybe Kirby is having some Senior Moments when he makes decisions like this.
I think the problem is an easy fix and the way you do it is if you’ve got workers whom are abusing the sick leave policy thing in a work place,then all a boss needs to do is fire those workers, especially if they don’t want to work at all
Tiffany the law in California is NOT what you think it is and there is no tooth fairy
I call Monday Nicole day. She is the girl that always gets sick on Monday. Has had more food poisoning and more traffic issues on Monday then anybody else in the last 37 years combined
I’m a United FA, and I can definitely tell you that my colleagues abuse sick time. I pride myself on having near perfect attendance, and yet I receive little accolade for not calling in sick other than a useless bonus point I get by not calling in over the 4th of July or Christmas. It’s time my colleagues start getting disciplined for abusing the system; it’s widespread. It’s not fair to those of us who show up to work consistently, and on-time.
Well, if you’re legitimately sick, you should have no problem getting this information from your doctor. I mean after all, I’d guess they had no problem providing it during the scamdemic when they tested positive for the sniffles so they can be excused with pay.
“If there’s a problem with someone then deal with it but instituting elementary school level policies is ridiculous.”
We would refer to this management style as “The shotgun approach”. Most mid-level managers are too cowardly to address the problem with the guilty party(s) so they sent an email to everyone and hoped that those who were causing the issue would get the hint. Very weak and insulting to all the employees who knew who was causing the problems.
@ Tim — This matter has nothing to do with Delta.
ormer FA here
I know this sounds pretty standard for all other industry, it completely makes sense, but it’s what comes with it that’s disgusting and unacceptable.
This company is toxic. They do not care about the FA work group at all.
On a regular normal operations day, it is not easy to reach scheduling and hotel lodging staff. Well on an irregular operation day, nobody could be reached for hours-FAs sleeping at on the airport bench, dirty floor. If you can afford a hotel room then good for you, those who cannot, tries to wait on the phone for hours (I mean HOURS, like over 10 hours on hold with the Rhapsody in Blue, I have screenshots of these!!) a friend said she went to sleep and woke up 7 hours later hold music was still going.
Company is also massively firing people- by teaching the new hires to snitch on senior FAs, newbies would obviously do it because that way they move up in seniority, and the company thinks that “saves” them money to get rid of higher paid FAs. Their end game? Bombarding the union with all these grievances and arbitration cases, slowing down the process of the new contract negotiations, which is long past due. People are going to work scared, and trying avoid flying as many hours, the less you work the less chance you get in trouble. Snitches names and faces get passed around over texts and messages, almost all FAs have a “no-fly” crew list. Company can break the contract whenever they want, gets a slap on the wrist and maybe give you a credit towards your sick bank then call it a day. But if they think you looked at someone the wrong way, you are done, fired. The union is in bed with the company, they are helpful at the local level, but once it goes out of the base, corporate level does not care, they do not respond to emails or messages, nobody cares. It’s always “fly now grieve later”. They also like to drag out the arbitration waiting for so long that it passes the statue of limitation, so if they can’t help you after that, you can’t even help yourself.
By the way- the whole absence thing? I saw few comments about FMLA- this disgusting company tried to come after me regarding my FMLA leave, on the paper and everything, then the union went and convinced them to drop that. Well that didn’t help me, it helped them.
I can go on forever. Your flight attendants are not doing well. Thank you for reading.
Good. These airlines are trying to get back on track and the useless union idiots are standing in the way. Wanna play games? Good….find another job.
of course it has to do with Delta, Gene.
T is absolutely correct.
DL is having an operational meltdown that is taking longer to resolve than UA’s.
DL is blaming its IT while UA is blaming its FAs.
DL will get its operation back on track but UA, just like AA, will still be at war with its FAs because that is what AA and UA have done with labor for decades.
They’re union under a contract. What does the contract say about this?
Pilots have to report health issues. Why not cabin crew?
@Tom
The union already spoke about it and stated it’s a contract violation. The union put it on the United AFA website for everyone to see. Meanwhile UA has even stated this will be a requirement for FMLA which is illegal.Last I saw there were hundreds of people reporting United to The Department of Labor… I have a feeling they will regret this decision and the amount of lawsuits are gathering,
@Heywood
Because it was not placed in the contract that ALL flight attendants must do this. That is where in court they won’t have a leg to stand on. Especially with them just doing it when it’s convenient for them and never doing this before.
The whole FMLA issue is a major lawsuit coming. United Airlines has been making very good business decisions lately but this one was not one. The damage has already been done however and it will be a learning lesson.
@Tim Dunn
You make every single post about Delta vs United. Don’t you get tired of writing the same boring BS over and over again? You sound brain washed
Except for California employees, the United Airlines’ medical leave certificate for flight attendants requires them to report their last four medical office visits for conditions such as sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) or sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including Chlamydia, Genital herpes, Gonorrhea, HIV, HPV, Pubic lice, Syphilis, Trichomoniasis, and others. The United Airline’s C-suite leadership emphasizes the importance of practicing safe sex and avoiding the sharing of needles to safeguard the well-being of employees and others.
Time,
when the United internet crowd quits acting like they have handled this all so well when they cancelled the 2nd largest number of flights.
I can and did laugh at WN’s tweet. They got lucky this time.
And customer service is what people buy on airlines. DL will recover and will be right back on top while AA and UA will still be fighting with their flight attendants who will deliver nowhere near close to industry-leading service, even in the Americas.
DL fell hard on its face but they will spend less on this than WN and also less than AA and UA will spend to make TEMPORARY peace with their labor groups including FAs
Don’t listen to people commenting here who claim they are an UA FA and standing by the company’s decision.
I’m a UA FA and all I hear from FA towards the company is disappointment and disgust.
These folks who say I’m a FA at UAL and I stand with the company… are purely liars… reality is FA are tired of management trying to stretch the contract and thats why we will strike.
Watch the C.H.A.O.S video from Alaska airlines in the 90’ and prepare for whats coming!
God bless!
Something like this happens because of abuse.
Let’s cut to the chase. When flight attendants come to work sick they infect no only their coworkers but the customers who are onboard to attend family events like weddings, attend important business meetings or take the vacation of a lifetime. Does anyone really want to spend all this money and miss their events of vacations lying in bed sick themselves. This policy is absurd and disrespectful to not just the FA’s but the paying passengers who are going to get sick! You want the FA’s to just shut up and do it? You try getting an appointment in a Doctor’s office within 72 hours of a weekend; let alone filling out private information such as a Medical Certificate! How would you like it if your work did this? Put yourself in someone else’s shoes here folks. People presume they know it’s due to abuse? We have an incredible amount of people getting sick because they are sick and COVID is going around again. Remember you won’t test positive until days after symptoms sometimes so you want us to go to work and get the public sick? HMMMMM… all about the almighty dollar. Remember- you’re being fooled too- not just your FA’s!
I fail to see what the problem is in getting the proper paperwork from a doctor. Similar paperwork was required at my job for all absences of a week or more. I usually went the whole year without using any sick days because I would get paid for the unused ones above 10 days in my bank but I was sick a few days in a row a few years during my 30 year career. When I was sick enough to take off work, I was sick enough to go to the doctor and the doctors offered work documentation paperwork in case the sickness required it. Besides scheduled doctor appointments, there were urgent care facilities that I used when I was sick. For those worried about spreading or receiving typical respiratory diseases, there are N95 masks. From the pandemic, we know most will not try to not infect others and don’t care about keeping from getting sick themselves, either.