Requests for Sick Leave
Protecting Privacy and Complying with FAA Requirements
Recent implementation of new work rules for air traffic controllers by the FAA include efforts to manage sick leave use. Many facilities have adopted specific requirements to discuss the nature of the illness or the medications used with a non-medical CIC, supervisor or manager to validate the sick leave request. In some cases, the controller requesting sick leave may be uncomfortable revealing the nature of the illness, medications or treatment because of privacy concerns at their facility. The Federal Air Surgeon shares a concern for the privacy of Protected Health Information. Below are suggestions for requesting sick leave and having the requests appropriately validated.
If requesting sick leave and the controller is comfortable responding to the questions of the supervisor/manager, the controller is encouraged to do so. This is the fastest method to have sick leave approved and least likely to cause conflicts with supervisors.
If the controller requesting sick leave does not wish to reveal personal medical information to non-medical personnel, validation of sick leave requests should be coordinated through the Regional Flight Surgeons’ (RFS) office. A controller should ask the supervisor requesting protected health information to contact the RFS’s office to arrange for the controller to discuss the medical issues directly with a member of the RFS staff. After review of the medical information, the RFS staff will contact the facility to notify the supervisor of the controller’s medical status. Diagnoses will not be discussed with non-medical personnel.
Requests for medical records in support of a sick leave request or a return to duty medical clearance should be handled in the same fashion. Controllers seeking to protect their personal medical information should inform their supervisor that they will fax or mail any confidential medical records to the RFS’s office for review.
Controllers should make every effort to contact the RFS staff during normal workday hours. For those controllers who are not scheduled to work until weekends or late shifts, but can anticipate the need for use of sick leave prior to the shift, contacting the RFS’s staff during routine office hours will result in faster determinations. If sick leave requests can not be anticipated during office hours, the RFS on call may be contacted through the Regional Operations Center. The Flight Surgeon will have to return a call to the controller and then in turn notify the supervisor of the medical determination. Receipt of fax copies of medical records may not occur until the next work day.
Some supervisors are also required to ask questions regarding the amount of sick leave a controller has accrued, anticipated time to return to work, etc. Controllers should respond to these questions that do not require release of protected health information. Any medical information released to non-medical personnel within the FAA is not protected by HIPAA regulations. Non-medical information is not covered by HIPAA, but is covered by FAA work rules and collective bargaining agreements.
Remember that the Federal Air Surgeon and his staff are not the office imposing the new work rules on FAA employees. The accommodations offered to protect controllers’ privacy of medical information places an additional burden on the RFSs’ staffs. Cooperation with the RFSs’ staffs for medical information required to make a determination of health and safe operation of the NAS will speed medical qualification determinations. If a controller has concerns regarding revealing medical information or medical reporting responsibilities, please call the Virtual Flight Surgeons office at 720-857-6117 or go to the VFS web site at www.AviationMedicine.com and click on “NATCA Members” for access to confidential email inquiries.
