Can part-time help get fired with a doctor’s excuse?

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Can part-time help get fired with a doctor’s excuse?

My niece is a student and has a part-time job. She just left urgent care and

has been diagnosed with the flu. Her employer told her if she did not show

up for her shift she was fired. Didn’t care if she has a doctor’s note. Said he

has been way more sick and still got to work. Isn’t there some kind of ethics

law or something that doesn’t allow people diagnosed with the flu to stay

away from people and their food?

Asked on March 2, 2017 under Employment Labor Law, Oklahoma

Answers:

M.D., Member, California and New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney

Answered 7 years ago | Contributor

The fact is that a doctor's note is not legally binding on an employer. Further, generally speaking, a company is free to terminate an at-will employee who misses too much work since attendance is a job requirement. That having been said, absences are protected if any of these apply: you had and used available PTO; the FMLA (Family Medical Leave Act); the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act); workers' compensation laws; state paid sick leave laws. Otherwise, absent protection under the terms of an employment or union/collective bargaining agreement, your niece's company employer was free to set the conditions of employment much as it saw fit.


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