San Francisco Employment Law Firm Blog
When your doctor takes you off work or extends your medical leave under FMLA or CFRA, getting the note is only part of the job. Make sure it actually reaches the person responsible for handling your leave at your workplace. “My doctor’s office said they would send it” is not the same as “My employer confirmed receiving it.” That difference can have serious consequences.
How a simple delivery problem can put your job at risk
Medical offices get busy. Someone forgets to send the note. An email stays in drafts. A fax machine malfunctions. The office uses an outdated email address or the wrong fax number. Problems can also happen at work. Someone opens the email or picks up the fax but never forwards it to human resources or the person managing your leave. Meanwhile, you believe your employer knows you cannot return to work for a certain amount of days. However, your employer may believe your approved leave has ended and you have stopped showing up without an explanation.
For example, your existing note says you can return on October 15. Your doctor extends your leave through November 15 and promises to fax the updated note. If that fax never arrives and you do not communicate with your employer, the company may treat your continued absence as unauthorized.
Follow up before there is a problem
A short email can prevent a much larger dispute:
Hi, I just wanted to make sure you received my updated doctor’s note extending my medical leave through November 15. Please confirm receipt and let me know whether you need anything else to process my leave extension.
If you call instead, ask who received the note and whether it reached the person handling your leave. Follow the call with a brief email documenting that conversation.
Also confirm the status of the extension. Receipt of a note and approval of additional leave are separate issues. If approval is still pending, ask what is needed and when you should expect a response.
If your doctor cannot provide the note on time, tell your employer promptly. Explain the delay, describe your efforts to obtain it, and request additional time. Do not assume silence means everything is approved.
Your doctor’s mistake does not automatically make your employer liable
If your doctor’s office fails to send the note and you are fired for an unauthorized absence, that failure does not, by itself, establish wrongful termination, disability discrimination, or failure to accommodate. The employer’s liability depends on its own conduct, including what it knew, what you communicated, and whether it complied with its legal obligations. Where an employer properly requests documentation, provides the required notice and time, and receives neither the documentation nor a sufficient explanation for the delay, missing paperwork can jeopardize leave protection.
There are important exceptions. An employer that receives the note through its designated channel and then loses it internally is in a different position from an employer whose office never received it. An employer may also have accommodation obligations when it already knows you need additional disability-related leave. Applicable leave rules can require additional time when timely certification is impracticable despite diligent, good-faith efforts.
California’s disability accommodation process requires cooperation from both sides. A missing note is not an automatic defense for the employer, just as a doctor’s delivery mistake is not an automatic claim for the employee. The practical advice is simple: get a copy, confirm delivery, and keep the confirmation. A brief follow-up while you are still employed is far easier than trying to reconstruct what happened after you have been fired.