How much sick leave do you accrue?
You accrue 4.5 hours for each month in which you are available for 15 or more days. If you are available for 14 days or fewer, you accrue nothing for that month. § 9.C.1.a § 9.C.1.b The exception is a flight attendant on active status for fewer than 15 calendar days in a contractual month, who still accrues if they reach at least 40 hours of pay and credit that month. § 9.C.1.b
“Available” includes being available for flight duty, claiming sick leave or vacation, or not being on an inactive status such as medical leave where you are not claiming sick. § 9.C.1 Accrual during leaves of absence follows the chart in Section 25. § 9.C.1.c
The bank is capped at 1,500 hours. If you have more than that you keep it but accrue no more. § 9.C.2 You keep your accrued sick leave if you are furloughed or on an approved leave. § 9.C.4 Your bank is relinquished when your service ends or you come off the seniority list, except as Section 26 provides for retiring flight attendants. § 9.C.5
How do you call in sick?
Notify Crew Scheduling electronically as soon as possible; the company must give you a confirmation receipt. § 9.B.1 Crew Scheduling won’t discuss the nature of the illness, question it or ask for a doctor’s note. § 9.B.1 If you cannot report for 21 or more consecutive days after the sick call, you must notify your Crew Attendance Manager, and the company may require medical documentation. § 9.B.2
A reserve who tells Crew Scheduling the illness will last more than one day doesn’t need to call in each day, but is assumed available at the end of that period unless they say otherwise. § 9.B.3 A lineholder can report unavailable trip by trip, or give an expected return date. § 9.B.4
How is sick time paid and charged?
Sick time is paid and credited at 100 percent. § 9.A
A lineholder is charged for each trip missed from their line, and the claim is paid from the sick bank. To the extent the bank doesn’t cover it, the time is unpaid. § 9.D.1.a Lineholders with an insufficient bank must reach a minimum of 40 hours of pay and credit for the month, or request a leave of absence with documentation, or make a reasonable effort as defined in Section 10.D.17.e-f. § 9.D.1.a If the bank is exhausted, the monthly guarantee is reduced for each day you were scheduled to fly but couldn’t. § 9.D.1.e
A reserve is charged for each day they report sick, at the value of the reserve day or the trips missed, whichever is greater. § 9.D.2.a If the bank is not enough, the reserve is considered unavailable for those days, including days off, until they return to available status. § 9.D.2.a The reserve guarantee is reduced by the value of a reserve day for each day they would have been used. § 9.D.2.c
You are not eligible for any premiums on trips you missed because of illness or injury. § 9.D.3 If you are on paid maternity, medical or family medical leave, you are charged sick to the value of your line or reserve guarantee. § 9.D.4
Can you fly after you call in sick?
Not during the time you reported sick. A lineholder is restricted from flying over that period, but can fly a trip on the same day as the sick call if it reports after the scheduled release time of the original trip. § 9.D.1.b A lineholder can call Crew Scheduling to say they are able to fly the remaining days of the trip. With Crew Scheduling’s consent, a lineholder who has called in well can also pick up a trip on TTS on days other than the first day of the sick trip. § 9.D.1.c If the sick trip includes a weekend or holiday (including the day before or after one), you can only pick up a trip on a weekend or holiday. § 9.D.1.c A reserve can also call in well, and with Crew Scheduling’s consent return to reserve availability. § 9.D.2.d
Can the company require a doctor’s note?
Not automatically based on a number of sick calls. § 9.E.1 The company may ask for written confirmation or make inquiries only when it can show reasonable cause to believe the sick leave may have been used for other than legitimate reasons, and it pays for the confirmation. You may be required to see a doctor of the company’s choosing. § 9.E.2 Using sick leave for other than legitimate illness or injury may lead to discipline. § 9.E.3
What if you get sick on a trip?
You get positive space travel to your crew base on the first available flight, or at your option and with Inflight approval to your residence. § 9.F The company may require a medical release to travel, at its expense. § 9.F Inflight supervisors and management must keep any medical information you provide confidential. § 9.G
“A Flight Attendant who is available for fifteen (15) or more days in a month will accrue four and a half (4.5) hours sick leave for such month.”
“Crew Scheduling will not discuss the nature of the illness or injury, question the illness or injury, or request a doctor's note from a Flight Attendant.”
“Sick time will be paid and credited at one hundred percent (100%).”
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