I SUBMIT MY 5TH REQUEST FOR SAFETY ASSESSMENT-SICK TIME POLICY

So far I have one win and three losses:

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Going to end of line at

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Direction of travel

Choose one

Street & Cross Street

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Bus stop ID/location

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Other Location

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Time(s) of day

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Day(s) of week

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Please describe your safety concern

This request for safety assessment is in regards to a regressive, archaic, internal policy: sick time regulations and safety.

Currently Trimet policy allows safety sensitive employees, specifically bus operators, a defined number of hours that can be used for sick time per year, regardless of how many hours of sick time are available to that person.

This is turn places the public’s safety at extreme risk because operators are forced to come to work whether they are physically able or not.

I have firsthand knowledge of an operator who literally passed out and was rushed to the hospital by ambulance. Luckily for the public this happened when she was outside the bus.

I know of another situation where an operator had to keep pulling over to throw up.

I myself remember working while sick and started hallucinating that the trees were moving into the roadway and felt as if I would have a heart attack right there!

If TRIMET management was truly interested in safety, they would take immediate steps to change this horrible policy regarding sick time.

Please describe your suggested remedy/solution

Change the sick time policy and stop forcing drivers to come to work under duress of unemployment.