Page:Alaska Airlines v. Judy Schurke - Panel Opinion.pdf/8

8 periods of proper attendance, and no action is taken for the first few points, but Masserant’s available and unused sick leave would not have covered her for the two day absence she sought in May. Masserant could have called in sick despite lacking available sick leave, three hours before each flight for which she was scheduled, but apparently the airline would have assessed points against her for absence without available leave. She wanted to take two days from the seven days of vacation leave she had scheduled in December, to avoid points. But the airline would not permit her to take her December vacation time in May. Vacation leave is "banked," that is, treated as an entitlement, on January 1, and can be exchanged for cash in advance of the scheduled vacation, but a flight attendant cannot take the time off in advance of the time slot he or she scheduled the previous autumn. Masserant had taken four days of vacation leave and cashed out 21 days when her child got sick, leaving her only the seven days she had scheduled the previous fall for vacation in December. She claimed entitlement to take it in May instead, under the Washington statute.