Do I need to provide a doctor’s note to verify the need for a medical leave of absence?
Do I need to provide a doctor's note to verify the need for a medical leave of absence?
Taking a medical leave of absence
is not ideal for an employee or their employer, but it happens. The law
recognizes that sometimes things happen in an employee's life that they
have little or no control over which is why there are legal standards
that both employees and employers need to meet in order to comply with
the applicable laws. Although employees do have rights when it comes to a
medical leave of absence
for certain reasons, the laws are indeed perplexing. As a result, some
employees may find it difficult to even know what rights they have.
Hiring an Employment Lawyer or a Labor Attorney would be the type of
legal professional an employee should contact to discuss their rights
and obtain advice from based on their particular situation.
There are
federal and state statutes that regulate leaves of absence and/or
affect the rights of employees who take a leave of absence. Although
there are federal and state statutes that regulate leaves of absence,
the good news is that an employee may utilize the applicable body of law
that provides the most protection in their particular situation, which
an Employment Lawyer or Labor Attorney will be able to determine. Below
are a few points to keep in mind in regards to taking a medical leave of
absence.
Who can take a leave of absence?
In
most cases, an employee can take a protected leave of absence if they
have what a doctor considers as a "serious health condition" such as an
illness or injury. An employee may also have a protected leave if their
spouse, child, or parent is diagnosed with a "serious health condition."
Alternatively, an employee may take a protected leave for the birth of
their child as well as to care for the child thereafter. Also, an
employee may be entitled to a protected leave of absence for the
placement of an adopted child.
Lastly, an employee may be protected
in taking a leave of absence if he or she has a family member who is on
active duty or in the armed forces.
Am I entitled to paid leave?
An
employee is not usually entitled to a paid leave. In some cases
however, an employee may be entitled to a paid leave if there is a
policy in place at their particular company that ensures that the
employee does receive paid leave. Each employee's circumstances differ
so it is important to discuss the particulars of your case in deciding
whether or not you were or are entitled to paid leave.
Do I need to provide a doctor's note to verify the need for a medical leave of absence?
In a situation where you need to take a medical leave
from work, whether or not you need to provide a note from your doctor
is a complicated question. Typically, if an employer requests a doctor's
note, then an employee may be obligated to provide one from their
doctor. Not providing a doctor's note may give the employer the right to
deny the employee's request for a leave of absence.
If an employee does put in a request to their employer to take a medical leave of absence,
the employer may give the employee a series of forms for their doctor
to complete within a specific time frame. An employee who is given
documents by their employer should have the paperwork filled out as soon
as possible by their doctor and returned to their employer within the
time frame specified by the employer. It will be helpful for the
employee to keep a copy of all written communications with the employer
and all documents related to the leave, as well as keeping a record of
all verbal communications between themselves and their employer.
Is my boss required to give me my same job back?
A
common concern that many employees have before, during, or after they
take a medical leave is whether or not they will be reinstated upon
their return. Depending on the specific facts and circumstances of the
case, an employee may be entitled to reinstatement upon their return. An
employee may have a right to reinstatement is if he or she has a
"serious health issue" according to a doctor. In addition to having a
serious health issue, the employee would need to have taken no more than
12 weeks of leave. This means that if a doctor diagnoses an employee
with a serious health issue and the doctor advises in a form to the
employee's employer that the employee needs a certain amount of time
off, it would need to be no more than 12 weeks in order for the employee
to be entitled to return to their same/equivalent position.
For
example, after a recent visit to her doctor, Beth was diagnosed with a
serious illness which required that she have surgery within the month.
Her doctor informed Beth that after the surgery she would need to be on
bed rest for at least 2-3 weeks. Beth is an assistant manager at the
factory she is employed at and is now worried that if she takes time off
for the surgery she will lose her job. Here, Beth is in a difficult
position because she needs to take time off of work to address her
medical condition and secondly, she is worried that she is going to lose
her job or perhaps be demoted if she does follow her doctor's
instructions to take time off. In Beth's case, she may be entitled to
her same job upon her return. This is because Beth's doctor has
recommended that she take 2-3 weeks off which placed Beth below the
12-week cut-off. Therefore Beth may not have an issue being reinstated
upon her return.
Every case varies due to the complexity of the laws that regulate leaves of absence
for employees. Certain factors may be taken into consideration in
deciding whether or not you may obtain your original position such as
how essential your position was at the company. If you are an employee
and have questions related to a leave of absence, you should reach out
to a Labor Attorney to discuss whether any of your rights were violated and if your employer complied with the leave of absence laws.