FAA SUPERVISOR REFUSES MEDICAL LEAVE FOR WORKER SUFFERING CHEST PAINS

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Published: July 18, 2013

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Lack of Common Sense Delays Medical Attention

OLATHE, KS - Last week, an employee at Olathe Mid-State Operations Control Center (MOCC) was denied medical leave after complaining of chest pains to his supervisor according to the Professional Airways Systems Specialists (PASS), the union representing FAA systems specialists.

The incident followed a disagreement between the employee and his supervisor about overtime staffing. In the course of the disagreement, the employee began to feel ill and complained of chest pains and other symptoms. Rather than immediately seeing to the employee’s medical needs, the supervisor left the employee unattended while conferring with another supervisor on the validity of the employee’s medical condition. It was almost an hour before a nurse, who was already nearby in the building, was summoned and an ambulance dispatched to the scene.

“Regardless of the circumstances, supervisors must use common sense when an employee complains of chest pains or any other illness,” said Dave Spero, PASS regional vice president. “Denying an employee immediate medical assistance is inexcusable. We are very grateful that this incident was not life threatening and that the employee in question was released after evaluation.”

The employee has since filed a grievance with the FAA.

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PASS represents more than 11,000 employees of the Federal Aviation Administration and the Department of Defense who install, maintain, support and certify air traffic control and national defense equipment, inspect and oversee the commercial and general aviation industries, develop flight procedures and perform quality analyses of the aviation systems. For more information, visit the PASS website at www.passnational.org.