Q: “When an employee calls off sick for more than one day, is there a minimum amount of days off required before an employer can ask for a doctor’s note?” – Joe, Pennsylvania
A: No, there is no minimum or even generally accepted minimum number of days an employer must wait before it asks an employee to provide documentation that he or she missed work because of illness. If the employee calls off sick for three or more days, and the individual is covered by the Family and Medical Leave Act, many employers send papers to the employee encouraging their completion, because one definition of “serious health condition” under that law is premised upon the individual being unable to work for three or more days because of his own or a covered family member’s serious health condition. If the employee does not complete the paperwork, the leave may not be considered job-protected.
Most employer policies do not require a doctor’s note when an employee takes a sick day because so few of us actually consult a physician when we are ill with a cold or flu virus. That said, when an employer becomes suspicious that an employee may be abusing its sick leave policy, individual employees may be directed to bring a doctor’s note to excuse their absences. In addition, in an increasing number of jurisdictions, individuals may be entitled to paid sick leave to care not only for themselves but for family members who fall ill, in which case you are looking to gather evidence that the family member was sick.
Finally, you are limited in what you can ask employees about medical conditions if you are gathering information under the Family and Medical Leave Act, but the U.S. Department of Labor has developed forms you can use to gather some information about the nature of the condition. If the employee is not FMLA-eligible, and seems to take a lot of sick leave, he or she may also be disabled, and it would be wise to ask the employee why so much sick leave is needed and whether the individual is in need of an accommodation of a disability before treating the absences as a potential disciplinary matter. If the employee fails or refuses to provide appropriate documentation showing a medical need for the leave, then the leave can be treated as unprotected and you can, if needed, discipline the employee for excessive absenteeism. On the other hand, if the individual is disabled, more frequent leave may be something you need to accommodate in order to comply with that law (and similar state laws).
