When employees get sick: Legal lessons for your medical practice

Your employees may occasionally come to you with medical issues.  For example, an employee advises you that his 12-year-old son broke his leg over the weekend playing soccer and needs a week off from work to be with his son, who is undergoing surgery/recovery.  Or an employee tells you she has recently been diagnosed with migraine headaches and, while there is no way to predict when the need will arise, she will need a few hours on “flare-up” mornings to stay home.  There are times when employers become suspicious that an employee is exaggerating an illness or injury or that the course of treatment is inaccurate.  That temptation can be even greater if the employer is a medical practitioner.  It is wise to avoid this temptation, as there are a myriad of laws which, depending on the size of your practice, require very specific types of interaction, and punish employers for missteps.  In order to safeguard your practice from potential liability, the best course of action is to proceed in the same manner as a non-medical employer.