Preventive Care

Per the 2022 National Agreement, employees in unassigned service will be allowed unpaid scheduled day(s) off that are necessary to attend up to three (3) routine and preventive medical care visits per calendar year without being assessed any attendance points. Employees on assigned jobs (yard, local, road switcher) are also granted three (3) preventive care visits per year but are limited to one (1) day pre visit. Some key points are listed below:

• The appointments must be on a Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday, excluding holidays.

• The employee must give BNSF 30 days advance notice by pre-approving the layoff. You can only submit one 24-hour LDR layoff for each appointment. If you are on an assignment that does not have a designated start time and need to layoff prior to the start of the LDR you will need to reject the call and transfer the crew office to have the layoff extended. Please notify one of your local chairmen if this request is denied.

• The employee must have their doctor fill out the Preventive Appointment Verification Form and submit it to BNSF to keep from being assessed attendance points. This form must be submitted via email to PCD@bnsf.com or faxed to 817-352-3310 within 7 calander days following the appointment.

• The layoff code for these appointments is LDR. These layoffs only apply to the employee and do not extend to their family members. 

• Employees with "Assigned Days Off" can also utilize these preventive care appointments but the excused time is limited to the day of the appointment.

• An employee who needs to attend an appointment but does not meet the criteria above must send an email to OPRDLTYEExceptions@bnsf.com requesting consideration. The following are examples of these scenarios:

  • • Employee does not have 30 days' advance notice. 

    • Healthcare provider only offers certain routine and preventive services on a Monday or Friday. 

    • Employee schedules an appointment 30 or more days in advance, but their provider reschedules the appointment to an earlier date. 

    • An employee would like to use these days for a family member who requires assistance attending routine and preventive visits. 

    • A nationally recognized holiday precedes or follows the date of a scheduled routine or preventive visit and the employee is required to lay off (either for medical necessity or availability purposes). 

• For more information regarding how to utilize this time off refer to System General Notice labeled "Routine and Preventive Care Layoffs". 

Click the link below to download a copy of the Preventive Appointment Verification Form. This form must be completed by your doctor when attending any of the 3 preventive care appointments granted by the 2022 National Agreement. Failure to submit a completed copy of this form will result in attendance points being assessed for attending these appointments.

Preventive Appointment Verification Form