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Can my employer fire me for taking doctor ordered time off?

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geekydude

Junior Member
Oregon

Can my employer fire me for taking doctor ordered time off?

My employer says I have had excessive absences.
They now say I cannot use my accrued PTO and cannot miss another day of work for an entire year (even when ordered by a doctor).

They say they will not accept doctors notes/excuses, and will terminate my employment if I don't go an entire year without calling in sick.

Can my employer do that?
Is it legal?

If I get 10 days of PTO to use for sickness & doctors visits, can they revoke that benefit for one employee and not others of the same position in the same department?

Can they consider less than 10 days 'excessive' if they provide PTO for 10 days?
Can they make me choose between doctor's orders to take time off from work and being terminated for taking that time off?

What are my rights, and what can I do to protect myself?

Please note: I don't qualify for FMLA...I was very ill for a few days, in which the doctor ordered me to take time off.
 


mlane58

Senior Member
Oregon

Can my employer fire me for taking doctor ordered time off?

My employer says I have had excessive absences.
They now say I cannot use my accrued PTO and cannot miss another day of work for an entire year (even when ordered by a doctor).

They say they will not accept doctors notes/excuses, and will terminate my employment if I don't go an entire year without calling in sick.

Can my employer do that?
Is it legal?

If I get 10 days of PTO to use for sickness & doctors visits, can they revoke that benefit for one employee and not others of the same position in the same department?

Can they consider less than 10 days 'excessive' if they provide PTO for 10 days?
Can they make me choose between doctor's orders to take time off from work and being terminated for taking that time off?

What are my rights, and what can I do to protect myself?

Please note: I don't qualify for FMLA...I was very ill for a few days, in which the doctor ordered me to take time off.
I would consider 10 days excessive and your employer can mandate how and when you use your PTO since they are not required by law to provide it anyway. A doctor's note has no force in law except for FMLA. In essence you don't have any rights to enforce.
 

cbg

I'm a Northern Girl
Yes, your employer can fire you for taking time off even if ordered by the doctor. The doctor does not run your employer's business.

If you do not qualify for FMLA, then you are entitled to exactly as much time off as the employer chooses to give you; no more and no less. They are not under any obligation to provide so much as an hour of sick time, paid or unpaid, unless it is attributable to FMLA. What they give to other employees is none of your concern. Other employees apparently have not been taking excessive time off.

Now, with all that being said, how long have you worked for this employer and how much time have you missed?
 

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