Can Your Supervisor Require a Doctor's Note to Use Sick Time
An employee with accrued sick time has been sick one day for each of three consecutive months. The employer's rule is that a doctor's note is required if an employee misses three or more consecutive days due to illness. The employee's supervisor has instructed the employee that she must provide a doctor's note for any further sick days, even if she only misses one or two days of work. Is the supervisor permitted to impose that new rule?
Re: Can Your Supervisor Require a Doctor's Note to Use Sick Time
Absent an employment contract, collective bargaining agreement (if the employee is a union member), or civil service law (if this is a government employer) that prohibits the practice, there is nothing impermissible about such a rule. The employer can prohibit the supervisor from imposing requirements beyond the standard rule but, if the employer does not prohibit the practice, it's otherwise allowed.