The Department of Labor is reviewing United Airlines’ sick leave policies after the airline introduced tougher measures to crack down on employee abuse of sick leave.
“Through numerous recent inquiries from workers, the Wage and Hour Office has learned of a possible change to United Airlines’ leave policy,” said Jessica Luhmann, Wage and Hour Administrator for the Department of Labor.
Luhmann said the department will work with airlines and employees to ensure their leave policies comply with the Family and Medical Leave Act.
The FMLA guarantees certain employees the ability to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave per year with job security. By law, employees’ group health insurance must also be maintained during the leave.
The law applies to all public institutions, all public and private primary and secondary schools, and businesses with 50 or more employees.
United Airlines told FOX Business that while the majority of its flight attendants have been “doing their best to serve our customers this summer,” the airline has seen a “surge in sick calls on weekends” this year.
United said its contract with the Union of Flight Attendants allows it to ask for a doctor’s note if it suspects sick leave abuse, adding that the policy is “strictly limited to the days when the abuse is occurring.”
The union representing United’s flight attendants, the Association of Flight Attendants (CWA), argues that the move is an attempt to violate contractual and legal obligations regarding sick leave rights.
But United said its policy does not interfere with employees’ right to take unpaid leave authorized under the FMLA and is fully compliant with federal law and union contracts.
Sarah Nelson, president of the Association of Flight Attendants (CWA), said the union has raised concerns with the Department of Labor over the past year about United’s practices related to the FMLA, including motor vehicle designation and paperwork.
“The issue was brought into sharp focus this week when, in the midst of the CrowdStrike meltdown on Saturday, July 20, management sent out an aggressive and accusatory schedule alert requiring flight attendants to provide absence certification for all weekend sick call-ins,” Nelson said.
Nelson said the company’s legal team is in contact with the Department of Labor again this week, and individual flight attendants have also filed complaints with the department.
Meanwhile, United Airlines said it aims to soon return to its previous system, which didn’t require a doctor’s note.
