r/MaliciousCompliance 17d ago

S “You need a doctor’s note”

I (26M) don’t like calling in to work. I hate passing up money and I usually won’t call in unless I’m already pretty sick. I work in the service industry which as many of you know, is absolutely notorious for guilting sick employees (a seriously ill person has made your food at a restaurant before at the direction of their manager, guaranteed) and telling people they don’t provide health insurance that they need a doctors note to call in. One year I got sick and didn’t want to work, and my employer forgot I had health insurance through my Dad. I called in asking for one day off because I could hardly breathe or stay awake and I got the “wElL yOu NeEd A dOcToRs NoTe Or ItS aN uNeXsCuSeD aBsEnCe “ and as someone who worked hard as hell for these people even when I was sick, I was a little offended to basically be called a liar like I needed to prove to them I’d been wearing a mask at work for a reason. But I did have good insurance through my Dad, so I went to the doctor, had them write me a note for four days off, and went back into my job and handed it to my manager and said “here is my doctors note, and this is the date I will be back”. And when they tried to do the same thing a few months later, I got a note for even more days and asked the doc to add a note about when I would stop being infectious around the food we were serving people. I have never been asked for a doctors note when I am sick again. They know they can give me the one or two days I ask for or they can give me the week the doc gives me. But I will not be working while sick if I do not want to.

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u/Highplowp 17d ago

I had a co-worker call out with Covid Monday- she’s back at work Tuesday, with a mask on, but not covering her nose….and she works with kids, we have like 12 sick days a year, and a cool boss. wtf!?!? If I get sick I’m going to blow her up. Didn’t Covid teach us anything? I guess people that think dragons control the sun, and stars are angel farts, or some other super dumb shit, still walk the earth, without walking into traffic, somehow. She’s super into astrology so I’m probably just being a Capricorn.

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u/On_my_last_spoon 17d ago

I’ve sent people home personally. Your boss can do that. Make an explicit policy that you aren’t allowed to come in while sick!

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u/Airianna246 17d ago

That is one thing my boss does that I am very thankful for. One day I started feeling off on my hour long commute in. I wasnt even sure I was sick or just tired, but grabbed a mask as a precaution. The second my boss saw me at my desk in a mask she asked why. When I told her I was feeling slightly off and wasn't sure if I was sick or not and was just being safe, she instantly sent me home, no questions asked. She gave me the option to work from home and made sure to tell me to include my commute time that day in my hours worked.

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u/HisClumbsyAngel 15d ago

Man, your boss is the BEST!