If I’m sick can my boss write me up?
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If I’m sick can my boss write me up?
I was sick on a Sunday and my boss told me to get a note. I went to my regular doctor on Monday morning and got a note for the next day as well. The next while I’m still on medical leave he decides to write me up. Also, I’m still sick and out for 4 more and he is deciding to write me up for every little mistake real and imagined. I live in North Carolina. Can he do that? Do I have any legal recourse? Also, all the files I created to do my job do I have rights to them? Can I delete them or can my job keep them?
Asked on February 2, 2017 under Employment Labor Law, North Carolina
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 7 years ago | Contributor
1) Any files or other material you created for work belong to the employer; if you keep or destroy their property, they can potentially sue you or even press charges (such as for theft).
2) There is no general right to sick leave; you can only take time off for illness, medical treatment, etc. if you either use paid time off or PTO, like sick days, which you accrued; or if your company was covered by FMLA leave (at least 50 employees, located within a 75-mile radius), you were eligible for it (worked there at least a year; worked at least 1,250 hours in the last 12 months) and you were going to be out for at least 3 days and requested FMLA leave. If one of these applied, you could not be disciplined for using your earned benefits or legal rights. Otherwise, however, since you would not have had the right to be out, the employer could choose to write you up or discipline you.
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