Doctor's slips iowa

[striderp]

I work for a major corporation. They claim that company policy states they only allow 2 doctor excuses/medical slips per 365 days before they count against your attendance. They only allow us 6 missed days a year. I have used 3 doctor's notes, but 2 have been for the same recurring condition and they are trying to charge me half a day's absence. I'm concerned because I'm going to have to return to the doctor 2 or 3 more times for this condition this year, during the work day. Is it legal? If not, what should I do?

[Pattymd]

The employer can set up their attendance policy any way they like. No federal or state law governs this.

The only exception where it MIGHT be a violation of federal law is if your continuing treatment qualifies for intermittent FMLA and we don't have nearly enough information to make that determination.

[striderp]

So can they fire you for being sick even if you have a doctors excuseing you from work? or haveing surgury? the facility I work at has 110+ employees if it matters at all

[cbg]

A doctor's note has no force in law. You can be fired for missing work, even if you were ill, even if you have a doctor's note, unless ALL of the following apply:

1.) Your employer has at least 50 employees within 75 miles of your location
2.) You have worked for this employer for no less than 12 months
3.) In the 12 months immediately preceding the leave, you have worked no less than 1.250 hours
4.) You or a qualified beneficiary have/has a serious health condition as defined in the FMLA statute

If even one of the four criteria above is not met, then you can be fired for missing work even if you bring in twenty doctor's notes.

Also, FMLA is not unlimited. FMLA allows you to take up to 12 weeks of protected leave, but when FMLA is exhausted, you can legally be termed for missing any more time, no matter how legitimate the need for additional medical leave may be and no matter how many doctors certify that need.

The only other possible exception I can think of, other than a state law or a binding contract that says otherwise (Iowa has no such state law) would be if you had a disability that qualifies you for ADA protection AND your employer has PREVIOUSLY granted you an accomodation that allows you to miss work on occasion.

The bottom line is that doctor's notes are a dime a dozen and unless FMLA (or in some very, very limited exceptions, the ADA) applies, your employer has no legal obligation to accept the them.

[sandman75]

I just lived this situation in April of this year so I know the answer to this. The company I worked for did not allow a single sick day. They counted against you whether you had a Dr. excuse or not. Well here what happened. I had 2 different dr. excuses 1 for 1 day and 1 for 2 days, so I had three days covered by dr.s excusses. I was fired over this. MAKE SURE YOU HANG ON TO THE EXCUSES! I held on to mine file unemployment and the ruling came back in my favor. Here was the ruling word for word. "decision : You are eligible to receive unemployment insurance benefits as long as you meet all other elegibilitiy requirements. The employer's account may be charged for benefits paid." "Explanation of decision: Our records indicate you were dismissed from work on 04/21/05, for excessive absences. However, your absences were due to illness and were properly reported. Under these circumstances there is no misconduct." .............Anyway the employer can set their attendence however they want, but if they dont allow for Dr.s excuse they may end up paying you to look for a new job. I dont think employers care though its still cheaper for them to get new labor (starting wage) plus pay you unemployment, then to keep you around at a higher salary. In the long run anyway.

[Pattymd]

But, just so you know, the fact that you were granted unemployment insurance benefits does not mean that you were wrongfully terminated or that the employer owes you any back pay. All it means is that you were not terminated for a disqualifying reason under the state UI regulations.