WASHINGTON (AP) — A long illness that keeps Sen. John McCain from his duties in the Senate isn’t likely to be challenged.
Congress has a long tradition in which no one questions ailing lawmakers taking time to recover. Some members of the House or the Senate have recuperated away from the Capitol for a year or more.
This unwritten courtesy isn’t often extended to the real working world where employees are forced to file for medical disability or take unpaid leave.
By tradition it’s up to the stricken member of Congress and the member’s doctors to decide when — or even if — they return to work.
The 80-year-old McCain has been diagnosed with glioblastoma, an aggressive type of brain cancer. He and his family are weighing his treatment, including radiation and chemotherapy.
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