On October 11, 2023, the HOA grieved creation of a new attendance policy in the Department of Anesthesiology. The Department now limits all residents to two sick days per year. Should a resident have more sick days than that, the Department has stated it will not ask the certifying board to waive any of those days off, which will give the impacted House Officer an automatic training extension unless they burned vacation time to compensate.

The HOA grieved the policy, arguing that limiting residents to two sick days is clearly an employment attendance policy, serves no rational academic purpose, is much stricter than what the HOA contract or Michigan Medicine policies allow, and directly conflicts with the Michigan Medicine procedures requiring five days off for a Covid-19 exposure. That the Departmental policy dealt with training extensions was immaterial; it was clearly a way to discipline employees for attendance.

The Hospital argued that this was an entirely academic matter as it only dealt with training extensions, which are the exclusive realm of the academic Department and the relevant boards. 

Unfortunately, on February 27, 2024, an arbitrator sided with the Hospital. The arbitrator found that while the new policy undoubtedly caused hardship for House Officers, that it was entirely academic in its application. House Officers could still take their sick leave in accordance with their rights under the contract, but the Department has full rights to determine time in training and when someone can sit for their boards. As such, the arbitrator ruled that the academic policy is not subject to the HOA contract.

Despite the setback of the arbitrator's decision, the HOA is steadfast in our dedication to the welfare of House Officers. We are committed to finding ways to challenge policies that negatively impact House Officers — both at the bargaining table and through the mobilization of our members. 

Lottery for Use of Vacation

The HOA had filed a related grievance regarding the policy's lottery system for allocating vacation. It was determined that the policy in question clarified a longstanding past practice that had worked well for House Officers for years. As such, the HOA determined it was not a contract violation and did not take the grievance to arbitration.