American Airlines' Unscheduled Leave Policy Sickens Attendants



This story was updated 4:28 p.m. Aug. 24 with a statement from American Airlines.

American Airlines (AA) will be rolling out a new rule, effective Oct. 1, that penalizes its flight attendants for what it considers abuse of unscheduled time off and could lead to some of those attendants being fired. The airline announced the rule Aug. 16.

Under the new rule, an attendant accumulates one or more points for what the airline deems infractions to its attendance policy—such as taking more than two personal days or calling in sick during critical times such as Dec. 22-Jan. 3. Accruing four to six points "during a rolling 12-month period would trigger a performance review," eight points leads to a final warning and 10 points results in termination, according to the Chicago Business Journal.

AA was in the news earlier this year when the company announced it was replacing uniforms that thousands of attendants claimed made them ill. Approximately 70,000 uniforms from Twin Hill are believed to be tied to symptomatic reactions AA employees began experiencing soon after the uniforms rolled out, Chicago Business Journal reported.

In a tweet dated the same day as AA's new unscheduled leave policy, the Association of Professional Flight Attendants (APFA) noted that the airline did not take into consideration "some of the realities of our jobs and workplace." Those include, it said, "toxic uniforms that continue to make thousands of flight attendants sick just by being in close proximity with them" and "toxic fumes on aircraft reported daily." The APFA is the largest independent flight attendant union.

"Our new, combined attendance and performance policy recognizes that life happens and provides our flight attendants with latitude to manage their time away from work," American Airlines spokesman Keith McCarthy said in a statement to SHRM Online on Aug. 24. "At the same time, it encourages attendance accountability, which ensures we’re appropriately staffed to provide our customers with the great service they expect and deserve when flying American." 

APFA did not respond to SHRM Online's request for a comment about the new policy.

SHRM Online has collected the following articles from its archives and other sources about handling unscheduled leave.  

American Airlines Flight Attendants Worried Sick About New Policy 

AA flight attendants who have had symptomatic reactions believed to be tied to uniforms made by Twin Hill are worried about a new attendance policy set to go into effect Oct. 1.

Even after many flight attendants switched to alternative uniforms provided by AA, some have continued to experience sudden reactions when they are in close proximity to others still wearing the Twin Hill uniforms. Those reactions in many instances have required them to call in sick. Under the new policy, as points accrue for calling in sick over a 12-month period, the result becomes more dire for the employee.
(Chicago Business Journal)

[SHRM members-only toolkit: Managing Employee Attendance]   

How to Design a 21st Century Time-Off Program 

Facing tight competition for talent and a maze of regulatory requirements, HR leaders are taking creative new approaches to vacation and sick time. 
(HR Magazine) 

Airlines, Railroads Say Local Sick-Pay Laws Don't Apply to Them 

Fed up with state and local laws that require private employers to offer paid sick days, airlines and railroad companies have filed suit, claiming that the interstate nature of their businesses should make them exempt.

Airlines for America, a trade group that includes American Airlines Group Inc., United Continental Holdings Inc., FedEx Corp. and United Parcel Service Inc., is asking judges in Washington and Massachusetts to exempt the airlines from the states' laws that provide for paid sick leave for all workers. CSX Corp. has also filed in Massachusetts, saying that the state's law is overruled by a federal railroad rule that forbids local interference. 
(Los Angeles Times)  

Ask HR: How Do You Handle Staff Who Abuse Sick Days? 

How do you handle employees who take a sick day any time they feel like not coming to work? Johnny C. Taylor, Jr., SHRM-SCP, president and CEO of the Society for Human Resource Management, addresses this question. 
(USA Today)