If my employer just told me that I need a doctor’s note as to why I was out sick and now I am no longer ill, what can I offer as proof?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
If my employer just told me that I need a doctor’s note as to why I was out sick and now I am no longer ill, what can I offer as proof?
I was out sick for 3 days. Considering I was throwing up and had the flu. I couldn’t move, hence not being able to get a doctor’s note. Now that I am getting better my employer calls me up and tells me to bring in a doctor’s note. How can I provide this when I am no longer sick? It says provide “reasonable evidence” but no doctors will give me a note if I’m no longer sick. Can I get my dad (whom I live with) to write a note? Should I have kept a bag of puke for them to see to prove I was sick? How should I handle this?
Asked on January 27, 2012 under Employment Labor Law, Oklahoma
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
An employer is entitled to require proof of illness when an employee is out sick. Bear in mind, after all, that employers are not required to provide sick days at all, or to even allow an employee to take unpaid time off for being sick--an employer may terminate an employee for not coming into work, even if due to illness. Since it is voluntary for an employer to let an employee take sick time (or provide sick days), the employer may require any evidence or proof it likes.
The law does not provide an answer to your question--it is up to the employer to decide what it will or will not accept. You should discuss the situation with your employer and find out what, if anything, it will accept.
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.