I work for a county government in Northern Virginia, lets say a "fire department". Anyway recently my employer sent out a general order stating that we were required to carry a balance of sick leave equivalent to our work week (42 hours). If we fall below that amount, we are "written up" and then required to provide a doctor's note for missing work in the future. Many of us have low sick leave balances due to injury and illness, some have several kids that they must also tend to, etc. For this group with leave less than 42 hours, we will automatically be written up and a oral counseling will stay in our file for a year. We are being punished for violating a general order that wasn't in place when we took the leave. Are they allowed to "require" employees to maintain a certain leave balance? Other county employees (say Park & Rec or Sherrif's office) are not held to this standard. Are they allowed to retro-actively punish us for past leave usage? This letter in an individuals file would surely make promotions more difficult and cause future discrimination. It seems to me that it is our leave, we work to acrue it and we should be allowed to use it when we see fit. Please help.

Unless there is something in your regulations or union agreement that says they can not require you to keep a positive balance or get a counselling letter, then they can. Is anything really happening to you other than you have this notation in your file and must provide a doctor's note?

Someone who is consistently using all of their sick leave each year does raise red flags. Asking for verification from a doctor that you are actually ill when you are close to exhausting leave is not atypical.