Can you be fired if you have a doctor’s note?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
Can you be fired if you have a doctor’s note?
Asked on December 11, 2012 under Employment Labor Law, New York
Answers:
M.D., Member, California and New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
Did you have an employment contract or union agreement that provided that you could not be fired under the circumstances? Did your termination violate the terms of company policy? Did some form of actionable discrimination play a role in your firing? If not, then as an "at will" employee, I'm afraid that you have no legal recourse.
The fact is that an employee at will may be fired at any time, for any reason; this unfortunately includes unfair reasons. Contrary to what most employees believe, there is no general right to take time off from work for being sick.
Note: If you had sick days or other PTO that you could have used but did not, that itself could easily be enough to cause your discharge.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.