There are several California laws that regulate whether a doctor’s note is necessary for you to receive sick time, FMLA leave, or disability accommodations.
These laws limit what your employer can make you disclose. However, there are still many unresolved issues and grey areas of the law.
If you are not required to provide a doctor’s note, then your employer cannot retaliate against you for not giving them one. If you are fired for not providing a doctor’s note, it can amount to wrongful termination.
However, if your employer can require a doctor’s note and you refuse, you can be terminated. This is the case with the ADA, which allows employers to require a doctor’s note regarding your disability.
In this article I discuss what you need to know about when your employer can require a doctor’s note in California.
Sick Leave Requests
California employment law is unsettled on this issue. As a result, some employers continue to require a doctor’s note.
In California, employers are not allowed to deny you the right to use your accrued sick days. They also cannot retaliate against you for trying to exercise your right to use your sick days.1 Instead, employers must let you use your accrued paid sick time upon oral or written request in order to:
- diagnose, care, or seek treatment for an existing health condition suffered by you or your family member, like a grandparent or domestic partner,
- seek preventative care for you or a family member, or
- seek help after domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking.2
However, California law also does not forbid employers from demanding a doctor’s note before issuing sick time.3
Labor Commissioner’s Opinion
The Labor Commissioner’s Office at the California Department of Industrial Relations (DIR), which is also known as the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE), has opined that requiring a doctor’s note is unlawful.
In a webinar about California’s sick pay law, the Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act of 2014, the DIR stated that requiring a doctor’s note might interfere with your right to take accrued sick time.4 However, the DIR’s guidance in the webinar was for informative purposes, only. The DIR does not have the authority to interpret the law with finality. Only the courts do.
Still, the DIR’s interpretation of the law does carry weight. According to the DIR, denying paid sick leave for lack of a doctor’s note can lead to a wage and order lawsuit or a retaliation claim.
Some employers continue to demand doctor’s notes in order to prevent the abuse of sick leave. Other employers have stopped demanding the notes in order to avoid a lawsuit.
FMLA Leave Requests
If you request leave under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), you must provide enough information to suggest that it would be covered by the law. Your employer may request more information if it is unclear.
The FMLA provides up to 12 weeks of unpaid, but job-protected leave per 12-month period to:
- treat a serious health condition and recover from it,
- care for an immediate family member who is suffering from a serious medical condition,
- bond with a new baby, or an adopted child or foster child, and/or
- deal with a qualifying emergency related to the military.5
Healthcare Provider’s Certification
While your employer cannot require a doctor’s note, they can request a certification from the healthcare provider who treated you or your family member.6 Such a certification must include at least:
- the date that the serious health condition started,
- how long it will likely last,
- appropriate medical facts concerning the condition, and
- when treatment is to be given and for how long, if treatment sessions will interfere with work.7
If your employer demands such a certification, you must provide one.8
If you provide sufficient certification, though, your employer cannot request additional information from the healthcare provider.9 They can, however, request a second opinion from another provider at its own expense.10
Healthcare Provider’s Recertification
Generally, your employer can require recertification no more than once every 30 days.11 If the original certification contemplated a duration of leave that was longer than 30 days, your employer cannot demand a recertification until that time or six months have passed.12
The recertification process is the only way to track your medical condition under the FMLA. Employers are not allowed to require you to provide a doctor’s note to prove your condition.13
Disability Accommodation Requests
If you request a reasonable accommodation because of your disability, your employer can demand a doctor’s letter. This letter is used to help your employer make accommodations that help you work without being an undue hardship on your employer.
The letter generally includes information concerning:
- the issuing doctor’s credentials,
- how long the doctor has been treating you,
- what the diagnosis is,
- how this condition will impair your work, and
- recommendations that can be taken to help you continue to perform your job duties.
Termination for Failing to Comply
Under the federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), employers can have a policy of mandating these doctor’s notes. They can terminate you for not complying with that policy by refusing to provide a note to substantiate a demand for accommodations.14
However, this policy of requiring doctor’s notes must apply to everyone. If it only applies to certain workers or alleged conditions, it can amount to discrimination.
The California Advantage: ADA vs. FEHA Protections
While the federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) provides a baseline of protection, California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) offers significantly broader rights for employees. If you are requesting an accommodation in California, three key differences usually apply:
- Lower Threshold for “Disability”: Under the ADA, a condition must “substantially limit” a major life activity. Under FEHA, it only needs to “limit” a major life activity—meaning the condition simply makes achievement of the activity difficult. This covers many temporary or less severe conditions that federal law might ignore.
- Privacy of Diagnosis: California law is much stricter regarding what your employer can ask. While an employer can request a note to confirm your “functional limitations” (for example, “cannot lift over 15 lbs” or “needs a standing desk”), they generally cannot compel you to disclose your specific medical diagnosis or underlying cause. A note stating you have a “medical condition” that requires specific restrictions is usually sufficient.
- The Mandatory Interactive Process: Unlike the ADA, which is often reactive, FEHA creates an affirmative duty for California employers to initiate a “timely, good-faith interactive process” as soon as they become aware of your need for support. In California, if an employer fails to engage in this discussion, you may have a separate legal claim against them—even if no specific accommodation was ultimately possible.15
ADA accommodations require a doctor’s note.
Privacy Rights under HIPAA
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) protects your right to privacy about your medical information and limits what your healthcare provider can disclose to your employer without your consent. However, HIPPA does not prohibit your employer from demanding a doctor’s note if it is needed for:
- sick leave,
- workers’ compensation,
- wellness programs, or
- health insurance.
Therefore, if your employer requests a doctor’s note, it should include the minimum medical information required to justify your request for leave. If your employer requests more information, your healthcare provider can only supply it with your consent.
While HIPAA provides the federal floor for privacy, California’s Confidentiality of Medical Information Act (CMIA) offers an even higher ceiling of protection for employees. Unlike HIPAA, which primarily regulates healthcare providers, the CMIA specifically requires California employers to establish strict procedures to ensure the confidentiality and protection of any medical information they receive—including simple doctor’s notes.
Crucially, the CMIA gives employees a “private right of action,” meaning you can sue for statutory damages ($1,000) and actual damages if your employer negligently discloses your medical records, even if they did not do so intentionally. Because the CMIA is more stringent than federal law, your employer must treat your doctor’s note as a confidential record, stored separately from your general personnel file, to avoid legal liability.16
Recent Changes to California’s Employment Law
California Assembly Bill 1522, also known as the Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act of 2014, is the law that guarantees you paid time off (PTO) for sick leave whether you work full-time or part-time. The law went into effect on July 1, 2015.
You are entitled to an hour of sick leave for every 30 hours you work. You are eligible if you work for 30 or more days within a year with your employer. You can take paid sick days you have accrued starting on the 90th day of your employment. If you are non-exempt, sick leave is paid at your regular rate of pay.
Sick leave can be taken for “prescribed purposes,” like to get medical care. The Act, however, does not say how employers can determine whether a request for sick leave is related to a prescribed purpose. This is why demanding a doctor’s note for sick leave is such a contentious issue.
As of 2024, most California employers are entitled to five days (or 40 hours) of paid sick leave per year. This is up from the prior sick leave minimum of three days (24 hours) per year.17
Check your ‘Know Your Rights’ notice—required for all California employees as of 2026—for your company’s specific leave procedures.
Local v. State Law
If local ordinances require better sick leave benefits, you are entitled to those more generous benefits. In San Diego, for example, the accrual of paid sick leave begins on your first day of work.18 Other jurisdictions that require more generous sick leave policies are:
- Los Angeles,
- San Francisco,
- Oakland,
- Santa Monica,
- Emeryville, and
- Berkeley.
Many California employers grant sick leave without demanding a doctor’s notes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can my employer require a doctor’s note for just one or two days of sick leave?
Under the Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act, the California Labor Commissioner has stated that employers should not require a doctor’s note for the first 40 hours (five days) of accrued sick leave used each year. Because the law requires leave to be granted upon “oral or written request,” a policy requiring a note for short absences can be viewed as an illegal “interference” with your right to take that leave.
However, if you have exhausted your 40 hours of state-protected leave, your employer’s standard attendance policy (which may require a note) can then be enforced.
Does my doctor’s note have to list my specific diagnosis or symptoms?
No. In California, you have a strong right to medical privacy. A sufficient doctor’s note for standard sick leave or FMLA/CFRA leave only needs to state that you have a “health condition,” the dates you are unable to work, and an expected return date.
Your employer generally cannot legally compel you to disclose a specific diagnosis (for example, “clinical depression” or “diabetes”) unless you are requesting a highly specific disability accommodation under the ADA/FEHA where the nature of the limitation must be understood.
I work four 10-hour shifts. Am I still limited to 40 hours of sick leave?
Actually, you may be entitled to more than 40 hours. California Labor Code 246 specifies that you are entitled to five days or 40 hours, whichever is greater. If you regularly work 10-hour shifts, five days equals 50 hours of paid sick leave. Your employer cannot “cap” you at 40 hours if that would result in you receiving fewer than five full days of pay for your typical work week.
Can my employer call my doctor to verify a note I provided?
Yes, but with strict limits. An employer can contact your doctor’s office solely to verify that the note is authentic (for example, “Did your office issue this note for [Name] on [Date]?”). However, due to HIPAA and California privacy laws, your doctor cannot discuss your medical history, symptoms, or the details of your treatment with your employer without your explicit written consent.
Additional Resources
For more information, refer to the following scholarly articles:
- Paid Sick Leave and Job Stability – Scholarly article by Work and Occupations.
- Sick Leave Policies Requiring Medical Certification Violate the ADA and Rehabilitation Act: Why the Second Circuit Got It Right and the Sixth Circuit Got It Wrong – George Mason University Civil Rights Law Journal.
- Do You Need a Doctor’s Note: Lay Testimony Should Be Sufficient Evidence for FMLA Leave unless Compelling Counter Conditions Exist – St. John’s Law Review.
- How Much Is Too Much: Doctors’ Notes and Return-to-Work Policies under the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Rehabilitation Act – Seton Hall Circuit Review.
- My Obstetrician Got Me Fired: How Work Notes Can Harm Pregnant Patients and What to Do About It – Obstetrics & Gynecology.
Legal References:
- California Labor Code section 246.5(c).
- Same.
- California Labor Code 247.5(b).
- California Department of Industrial Relations, “Healthy Workplace, Healthy Families Act of 2014 – Paid Sick Leave” (April 8, 2015).
- 29 USC 2612(a)(1).
- 29 USC 2613(a).
- 29 USC 2613(b).
- 29 CFR 825.305(c).
- 29 CFR 825.307(a)
- 29 USC 2613(c)(1).
- 29 CFR 825.308(a).
- 29 CFR 825.308(b).
- Oak Harbor Freight Lines, Inc. v. Antti (D. Or. 2014) 998 F.Supp.2d 968.
- Gogos v. AMS Mechanical System, Inc. (7th Cir. 2017) No. 15-3603.
- California Government Code 12940.
- 45 CFR 164.512(b)(1)(v). California Civil Code 56 et seq.
- California Assembly Bill 1522. See also Hirdman v. Charter Communications, LLC (2025) 115 Cal.App.5th 662 (reinforces that the Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act (HWHFA) is a strictly interpreted statute). California Labor Code 246. Senate Bill 616 (2024). See also AB 2499 (2024) and AB 406 (2025) (expanding use for victims of violence and transferring enforcement jurisdiction to the Civil Rights Department).
- City of San Diego – Compliance Department.
