United Airlines imposes weekend doctor's note requirement for sick flight attendants

United Airlines has announced a new policy requiring flight attendants to provide a doctor’s note when calling in sick on Fridays, Saturdays, or Sundays. The airline cited an increase in sick calls over summer weekends by as much as 23%, suggesting that some crew members may be misusing their sick leave.

This development coincides with ongoing contract negotiations between United Airlines and its flight attendants, who are preparing for a strike authorization vote. Additionally, the airline is recovering from operational disruptions caused by the CrowdStrike outage.

The Association of Flight Attendants (AFA) union contends that this new policy violates Section 13.C.4 of their contract, which stipulates that an 'absence certificate' can only be required during the July 4 and Christmas holiday periods—not weekends. The union also argues that the timing requirement for submitting these certificates differs from what is outlined in Section 13.C.3 of their contract.