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Frequently Asked Questions
Reporting in Sick
Q1: “I am too sick to report to work as scheduled… what do I need to do?”
I’m so sorry that you aren’t feeling well! As soon as you determine that you are too ill/injured to work, you must report in sick by either calling Crew Scheduling or using the Electronic Report Sick (ERS) feature. If you choose to call Crew Scheduling, remember that you do NOT need to share details – the call can be brief and straight to the point.
“Hi. My name is Jane Stew, employee #1234567, and I’m calling in sick for my trip tomorrow.”
Crew Scheduling will verify your identity (usually by asking you to confirm the last four digits of your social security number) and then pull you from your assignment. On your CWA screen, you will have green blocks labeled SLP (Sick Leave with Pay) or SLN (Sick Leave No Pay) where your assignment used to be. Then all you need to do is rest up and feel better soon!
Q2: “I have called in sick to Crew Scheduling. Do I need to tell them that I’m going to submit a PIN or Doctor’s note?”
No. Inflight Crew Scheduling does not handle our excused absence paperwork. That task lies in the hands of Inflight Attendance & Leave. After you have been pulled from your assignment, you can use your contractual option (if applicable) of submitting a quarterly PIN or Doctor’s note to Inflight Attendance & Leave to excuse your absence and not accrue attendance points. You may also turn in your Doctor’s note directly to your Supervisor as outlined in Article 32.4.
Q3: “When do I need to report sick?”
We should report sick to Crew Scheduling as soon as we know that our illness or injury will prevent us from reporting to work as scheduled. Keep in mind, sick calls may be reported a maximum of two (2) calendar days prior to your scheduled assignment. (Article 32.1.a)
A timely report of illness or injury is at least two (2) hours prior to your scheduled check-in time for a pairing. Article 32.6 states that if we call in with less than two (2) hours to check-in at domicile, it is considered an untimely report of illness and comes with the accrual of 2.5 attendance points which cannot be removed with a PIN or Doctor’s note.
On Reserve, we should make every effort to call in sick prior to our liable for contact time. If you are liable for contact and Crew Scheduling has initiated contact to notify you of an assignment or they have already notified you of an assignment, and then you call in sick, you will accrue an additional 0.5 attendance points which cannot be removed with a quarterly PIN or Doctor’s note. It’s also important to note that if you call in sick after contact was initiated or after being notified of an assignment on Reserve, Management can require you to verify your illness via a company-designated Doctor. (Article 11.14.A)
IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT RESERVE SICK CALLS: If you are a commuter and you are too ill to commute into domicile for your Reserve assignment, you must call in sick prior to your liable for contact time to avoid the risk of discipline up to and including termination of employment.
Q4: “Can I report sick for multiple assignments at a time?”
Yes. We can report sick for assignments beginning within five (5) consecutive calendar days following the report of illness. (Article 32.1.a) If you need a longer duration than five (5) days (but no more than 14 days) to recover, you can speak to an Inflight Supervisor for assistance. For absences of longer than 14 days, please refer to the Medical Leave language in Article 15.1.
This Flight Attendant sprained their ankle walking off of a curb. OUCH! Their doctor is writing a note to excuse their absence for both of these pairings. Because they are reporting in sick on the 27th, the language in Article 32.1 allows them to report sick for both pairings.
Q5: “I have a terrible cold but am starting to feel better. Can I report sick for one day of Reserve? And then if I am still not feeling well, can I report sick for more days of my block?”
Yes, you can report sick for a single day of Reserve. In fact, when you report sick to Crew Scheduling for Reserve, you are calling in sick for one day unless specified otherwise! (Article 32.1.b) When using ERS, you can select the number of days you are reporting in sick for Reserve.
IMPORTANT NOTE: If you are a commuter, please make sure that you report sick prior to your liable for contact time on any subsequent day of Reserve. Failure to do so can result in discipline up to and including termination of employment.
Q6: “I called in sick for my first day of Junior AM Reserve (JAR) but am feeling well enough to complete the remainder of my block. What time will I be liable for contact tomorrow?”
Per a Letter of Understanding (LOU) signed in 2012 and re-agreed to for Contract 2024’s new Shifted Reserve system, a Junior AM Reserve (JAR) Flight Attendant who was pulled from a day of their Reserve block will go back on call two (2) hours prior to the first scheduled check-in at the domicile of their Reserve obligation or 0300 Local Time, whichever is earlier.
Q7: “Is our contractual sick leave just for when I’m personally sick? Can I call in sick to care for my daughter who has the flu?”
Our contractual sick leave is intended for personal illnesses and injuries only. There are specific State Laws that cover the care of a loved one. So, depending on where you are based, that could be an option to care for your daughter. Intermittent FMLA can also be used to care for a loved one who requires your assistance. For additional information about Leaves of Absence, please contact our TWU Local 556 Leave Specialists.
Q8: “I called in sick for my trip but I’m feeling so much better! Can I recover my pairing?”
We do have language about sick leave recovery in Article 16.3 of our Contract. You would need to contact Crew Scheduling to see if there is a timely and cost-efficient way to recover your pairing. Sick leave recovery for a pairing is possible… unless your pairing has been assigned to a Lineholder (from Open Time or VJA). If your pairing cannot be recovered in an efficient manner, Scheduling can offer you a comparable pairing (same number of remaining days of your sick call) or Reserve. If you choose to not accept the comparable pairing or Reserve, you will be allowed to remain off and collect sick pay for the entire pairing.
NOTE: Crew Scheduling will not sick leave recover you for the same day you call out sick. If you are feeling better on the same day you called out sick, Crew Scheduling will work to sick leave recover you on the following day.
Q9: “Are we automatically paid for our sick leave? What if I don’t want to be paid for my sick call?”
As long as you have enough TFP in your sick bank to cover your sick call, it will automatically be coded as “SLP”, or Sick Leave with Pay. If you do not have the needed TFP to cover the entire pulled assignment, you will be paid any available sick leave TFP and then the remainder of your pairing will be unpaid. To opt not to be paid for a sick call, you should instruct Crew Scheduling on the original call that you would like to be pulled without pay and they will code the absence “SLN”, or Sick Leave with No Pay. With EBS, you can select to take your unpaid sick leave. You can also contact Inflight Attendance & Leave to notify them that you would like to take the sick days unpaid.
IMPORTANT NOTE FOR PROBATIONARY FLIGHT ATTENDANTS: During the first six (6) months of employment, you can accrue and be paid out of your sick bank. (Article 16.1.C) Until this process can be automated, in order to get the appropriate “SICK” TFP applied to your pay, email Inflight Attendance & Leave. InflightAandL@wnco.com
If there is an applicable paid State Sick Leave (i.e., OSCK, LSCK) for your domicile, you can also be compensated out of your sick bank when using those state protections.
Q10: “Am I paid RIGs for my sick leave?”
No. RIGs are not paid on sick leave. Sick leave will only be paid on the leg credit value of the flights pulled.
Q11: “If I call in sick for a VJA pairing, am I paid 1.5x for the sick leave?”
No. Sick bank is only paid on the leg credit value of the flights pulled.
Q12: “If I call in sick on Reserve, how much am I paid per day?”
6.5 TFP per day of Reserve absence when you report in sick.
Q13: “How do we accrue sick leave and where can I find my balance?”
We accrue one (1) TFP of sick leave for every ten (10) straight-time TFP flown or credited during the month. (Article 16.1.A) In the month of December, those with perfect attendance will actually accrue sick leave TFP at a rate of 1.5x! Example: If you have perfect attendance for December and fly 100 TFP, instead of the normal 10 TFP added to your sick bank (1 TFP per 10 TFP credited), you will accrue 15 TFP in your sick bank.
