Post by healthy11 on Sept 21, 2015 14:21:55 GMT -5
news.yahoo.com/whats-boss-allowed-ask-call-sick-144400910.html
It doesn't say that the article's author is an attorney, but Alison Green writes the "Ask a Manager" blog. Here's an excerpt:
"....In general, when you call in sick, your manager can ask any follow-up questions she wishes. Of course, as a general best practice, managers should respect your privacy and stick to asking about when you expect to return to work, but the law does give nosy employers some leeway in most cases.
However, there's a key exception to this: if the reason for your absence is a medical condition that's protected under the Americans with Disabilities Act. The ADA offers protections to employees with physical or mental impairments that substantially limit one or more major life activities, such as seeing, hearing, speaking, walking or breathing. A person with, for example, epilepsy, HIV or a substantial hearing or visual impairment would generally be covered, but someone with a minor condition of short duration -- such as a cold, the flu or a sprained ankle -- generally wouldn't be covered.
"The ADA does allow an employer to make inquiries into the ability of an employee to perform job-related functions," Cavanaugh says. "Therefore, the manager can and should still ask the employee with a probable ADA situation when he or she expects to return to work." However, the ADA states that your employer is not allowed to push you for information beyond questions that are "job-related and consistent with business necessity." So if, for example, you explain that you're calling in sick because you need dialysis treatment or need to check into a mental health facility (both things likely covered by the ADA), your employer can ask when you expect to return to work but shouldn't question you beyond that."
It doesn't say that the article's author is an attorney, but Alison Green writes the "Ask a Manager" blog. Here's an excerpt:
"....In general, when you call in sick, your manager can ask any follow-up questions she wishes. Of course, as a general best practice, managers should respect your privacy and stick to asking about when you expect to return to work, but the law does give nosy employers some leeway in most cases.
However, there's a key exception to this: if the reason for your absence is a medical condition that's protected under the Americans with Disabilities Act. The ADA offers protections to employees with physical or mental impairments that substantially limit one or more major life activities, such as seeing, hearing, speaking, walking or breathing. A person with, for example, epilepsy, HIV or a substantial hearing or visual impairment would generally be covered, but someone with a minor condition of short duration -- such as a cold, the flu or a sprained ankle -- generally wouldn't be covered.
"The ADA does allow an employer to make inquiries into the ability of an employee to perform job-related functions," Cavanaugh says. "Therefore, the manager can and should still ask the employee with a probable ADA situation when he or she expects to return to work." However, the ADA states that your employer is not allowed to push you for information beyond questions that are "job-related and consistent with business necessity." So if, for example, you explain that you're calling in sick because you need dialysis treatment or need to check into a mental health facility (both things likely covered by the ADA), your employer can ask when you expect to return to work but shouldn't question you beyond that."