Legal or not?

[Sinamenone]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? PA
Good afternoon, I work for a transportation company. When an employee calls out sick, any one of the 6 supervisors will periodically call to make sure we're home or really sick. We don't get sick pay for the 1st 2 days we call out sick. After we're out for 2 days, we have to call a supervisor to take us out of the sick book & bring in a doctor's note when we return to work. Is it legal for an employer to call you while your out sick?

 

[Adalaide78]

I've had employers call me while I'm out sick. Of course I have never had a landline phone in my bedroom and I'll be damned if I keep a cell phone turned on if I'm in bed with the flu or otherwise sick enough to stay in bed trying to sleep. I'm not really sure about the legality of it but I can't imagine it being illegal. I make sure to have a great relationship with my doctor. He understands that often an illness does not require medical treatment even if it keeps you in bed for a few day so he'll happily give me a doctor's note for work as long as I keep up with my yearly visits. You may want to foster such a relationship with your doctor (if possible) so you could get a note after just one day missed from work. Then they can't complain that you'd rather sleep than answer your phone every few hours.

 

[eerelations]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? PA
Is it legal for an employer to call you while your out sick?

It sure is legal!

 

[eerelations]

I'm not really sure about the legality of it but I can't imagine it being illegal.

It's not illegal.

 

[JKBee]

Could you put a message on your answering machine to the effect, "sorry, I can't come to the phone right now. I am very ill and am trying to rest. ?

 

[commentator]

I actually had a boss who not only called your house, if you didn't answer the phone, she would make a "home visit." My co-worker waked up to the sound of a horn blowing, looked out the window, and saw our boss sitting in her driveway, blowing her car horn! You couldn't do anything but laugh! And win lots of "boss from hell" contests.

But a complaint to her supervisors got her reprimanded, because she was in the first place, wasting a heck of a lot of her time trying to enforce sick days (were you REALLY sick?) nt to mention how crummy it was for morale. However, the long and the short of it is, they can ask for a doctor's note even if it is for ONE sick day. As for the phone calls, they can make it their policy, and could actually terminate you for not chatting with them several times during the day to prove you're still home in bed sick, though this seems sort of unproductive and silly. Especially if you have already called in before shift to report you are taking a sick day and told them you are sick. So are you supposed to answer the phone while you're in the doctor's office?

 

[ecmst12]

Usually, companies require a doctors note after an extended illness not to prove that you were sick, but to prove that you are healthy enough to return to work and not infect your coworkers.

 

[Adalaide78]

Usually, companies require a doctors note after an extended illness not to prove that you were sick, but to prove that you are healthy enough to return to work and not infect your coworkers.

I understand that this is most often the reason for requiring a doctor's note. The only reason I commonly have gotten a note for an obnoxious boss who attempts to call me when I'm sick is for the "proof" that I was actually sick. If they ask why I didn't answer any calls I always just tell them I was sleeping, which is generally true if I'm sick enough to not be at work.