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Ask the Helpline | Is This Doctor’s Note a Fake?

Posted on February 3, 2025

Question

One of our employees recently brought us a doctor’s note to return to work, but we are skeptical of its validity. What can we do?

Answer

There are two aspects to your question:

  1. What limitations are there on an employer’s ability to ask for a doctor’s note?
  2. What should the employer do when it don’t believe the submitted note is credible?

Employers Have the Right to Request a Medical Note

The first step is to ensure that your company has a compliant earned sick-time policy. A model policy is available on the Attorney General’s website.

The Massachusetts Earned Sick Time Law allows employers to request a doctor’s note when an employee’s use of earned sick time:

  • Exceeds 24 consecutively scheduled work hours;
  • Exceeds 3 consecutive days on which the employee was scheduled to work;
  • Occurs within 2 weeks prior to an employee’s final scheduled day of work before termination of employment, except in the case of temporary employees;
  • Occurs after 4 unforeseeable and undocumented absences within a 3-month period; or
  • For employees aged 17 and under, occurs after 3 unforeseeable and undocumented absences within a 3-month period.

If the employee fails to provide documentation for unpaid earned sick time, the employer may

  • Deny the future use of an equivalent number of hours of accrued earned sick time until documentation is provided.
  • Recoup the sum paid for earned sick time from future pay, as an overpayment (employees must be notified of this practice).

Depending on the situation, the employee may also face disciplinary action.

Other situations in which an employer may request a medical note include fitness for duty following a leave of absence (FMLA or PFMLA) or worker’s compensation injury. In either circumstance, the employer must clearly put the employee on notice of the requirement to provide the medical note prior to, or at the time of, returning to work. Best practice is to provide a job description for the employee to give to the doctor to evaluate the employee’s fitness to perform the job duties more accurately.

Requesting a doctor’s note if the company needs information about sick leave, worker’s compensation, or health insurance is usually not a violation of HIPAA, the medical privacy law.

It is important to remember that consistency in enforcing this policy is critical to avoiding legal challenges in the future.

What If the Doctor’s Note Seems Suspicious?

With numerous online resources offering fake doctor’s notes, employers may occasionally encounter questionable documentation.

If the HR department is uncomfortable with the nature of the medical note, they can inform the employee that they want to contact the doctor or medical facility to confirm the information in the note. Invite the employee to listen in on the conversation or provide written consent for the call. Ask for information necessary to affirm the doctor’s note’s authenticity or clarify information in the note.

A doctor’s note does not guarantee employees legal protection for continuous or frequent absences, such as Monday or Friday sickness patterns. The company may establish and enforce its attendance policy notwithstanding legally protected time off to prevent abuse.

Need HR Assistance?

AIM members interested in discussing this or any other HR-related matter may contact the AIM helpline at 1-800-470-6277 or helpline@aimnet.org.