(ASA) FMLA question

[Richard Gozinya]

Folks,

Over the last 12 calendar months, I've had three absences due to being sick and one absence due to fatigue. Genuine absences, it's not like I've been calling in sick because I wanted to go to the Braves game, etc.

Received the 'memorialization' of my unsatisfactory attendance record. Was told that next absence would have to be FMLA approved to prevent an occurence, and possible termination.

I'm not scheduled to work till Sunday, but am sick with some sort of virus. Doubt I'm gonna make it. Going to the Doc today, gonna try to get him to approve an FMLA absence so that I might hopefully get to keep my job.

Have I covered my bases? Someone else I should talk to? ALPA? Who? Suggestions appreicated.

Check you PM's

 

[Speedtape]

Go online at the company website and read the fmla information. You have five days from the time your are first sick to notify them that you plan to use fmla. I was told that they have agreed to honor applications that exceed this time period until they do some sort of informational campaign, that was proposed by ALPA and agreed to by the Company. If all else fails, call your MEC chairman. He has made this a priority, according to one of the reps.

 

[Airboss]

My understanding is you have 1 year to file fmla.

 

[Speedtape]

My understanding is you have 1 year to file fmla.[/quote

Read the info on the website. The law states that the company can set a "reasonable time." They have set their interpretation of the law.

 

[CFI2766]

Update:

Sincere THANK YOU to all who have replied (even those with smart a$$ remarks about my condition )...

Sunday morning and I feel like a human being again. I think I will eat today; first time since Wednesday night for that to happen. I don't have a scale, but looking in the mirror, I don't recognize my face. I'm not a big guy to begin with, but the Wife says I've lost 15 pounds. Doc says some sort of acute stomach flu. I say super-duper asian death flu.

There is no possible way that I could have legally, safely flown today for my scheduled four day trip. However, there is a God, and he/she works in mysterious ways: my trip was taken for training and I'm off until next week.

In retrospect, I probably was a little scared by the letter on my attendance. However, the last sentence of "Failure to correct your absenteeism could, ultimatetly, result in the termination of your employment by ASA" did rattle me. I'm doing what I want for a living, getting fired by my first airline would not be a career enhancement move.

I was absent (genuinely sick) in July '07, Nov '07, and Jan '08, more frequent than average for me, but all three valid, actually sick, can't come to work kind of days.

The most frustrating part of this situation for me has been the fact that the occurence that pushed me over the top for a VFR-direct, one way, no expenses paid trip to the chief pilot's office was due the schedule that I was assigned to fly that week.

(To recap, I had four twelve hour duty-day daylines back to back. The third day IROP'ed into a 15 hour marathon. [Average half an hour from the time I stand at the bus-stop until I leave the parking lot, plus a 45 minute, no-traffic, that is, commute to the house, over four days, means that I'm getting 6 hours of sleep a night, if everything goes as planned. It didn't.] Called scheduling and asked them very politely to drop the first two legs of the last day. I wasn't trying to get out of the whole day, I just wanted to sleep so that I could feel like a human being again. Instead, when they decided that they would reduce the in-domicile rest to 9 hours when IROP was declared so that I could legally, conratctually duty in on time, I called 'fatigued'. I called the Chief Pilot on duty, received a tense lecture on 'the rules', and was relieved, without pay[Which I'm okay with; Take the pay, but the occurence for 'fatigue' is Bravo Sierra.], from my entire trip the next day.)

IF, God forbid, I would have made any mistake on the fourth day that would have either bent metal or broken bones, I strongly suspect that I would have lost my certificate and job for not calling in fatigued, per the FARs. In doing the right thing, calling in fatigued, I feel like I jeopardized my job due to circumstances beyond my control.

I'm very appreciative of the opportunity that my company has given me to date. However, instances like this do not make me want to 'go the extra mile' for my company.

Anyways, thanks again for the folks who contacted me to wish me well over the last few days. For Y'all I will go the extra mile, or two, if necessary.

 

[Max Q]

There isn't a single soul on the face of this planet that cares about your certificate more than you. Rack up all the fatigue occurances you want and let the facts speak for themselves when the time comes. You did your part. Bravo.

-Brett