The employer deserves the right to accept or dismiss a doctor’s note as long as it is acting within the confines of the law. If the employer is operating under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) then he is bind to follow the FMLA’s procedures for authenticating a doctor’s note.
One reason for rejecting a doctor’s note is that the note is “faked”. However, an employer under the FMLA’s rules should not just dismiss any note whether it looks suspicious or note. It should be accorded the same authenticating procedure for all medical certification.
The procedure to follow includes:
- The employer is also requested to give the employee the first right to authenticate a doctors excuse note he or she has provided.
- In the case that the employee fails or refuses to authenticate the note, the employer can proceed to contact the employee’s doctor to verify or authenticate the document. The employer can also ask a representative other than the immediate supervisor of the employee to carry out the authentication process.
- The employer should contact the doctor or medical provider or the employee who purported to issue and signed the medical excuse or note. This contact could be by visit or by telephone to determine that the document ensued from the health care provider.
- The authentication process will also include providing the doctor with a copy of the said note for verification.
- In the process of authentication, it is on the employer to seek further information from the doctor. He is not allowed under the HIPAA law to request the health condition of the employee without approval from the employee or patient. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) law gives the employee the right of medical privacy. Another place for a doctors excuse is here.
Always be aware of fake printable physician’s forms, get the necessary information to spot one.
Final Tips
These are the steps that should be followed by an employer to authenticate a doctor’s note if he so wishes. Especially, this applies to employers under Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). However, if after the above procedures, the employer is not satisfied with the verification or has cause to doubt the authentication and confirmation from the medical health provider, he can require the employee to obtain a second or third opinion.
