Employer sick-note rules · healthcare
Does HCA Healthcare accept an online doctor’s note?
HCA's official leave policy says calling in sick is not enough to trigger FMLA protection. Health care provider certification and the leave request form are due within 20 days through the Time Away From Work center. Point values vary by facility.
What HCA Healthcare workers are told
Absences tracked
Facility attendance policies (employee-reported points from one facility in 2016: 2 for a sick call with 4 hours' notice or less, 1.5 for leaving within 4 hours of the shift start, 1 for arriving up to 2 hours late, 2 for no-show, termination at 7, points expire after 1 year). Leaves governed by corporate policy HR.TR.004.
Note required
Official LOA policy: 'Simply calling in sick without providing more information is not sufficient notification of the need for FMLA leave'; health-care-provider certification and the Leave of Absence Request form are due within 20 days; intermittent FMLA absences must be reported to the TAFW Service Center within 48 hours. The corporate leave policy says nothing about facility attendance points or routine notes.
Where to submit
Request leave through HCA's TAFW (Time Away From Work) Service Center and notify your supervisor; report sick calls to your supervisor under your facility's own call-out procedure.
Leave administrator
HCA TAFW Service Center (internal); no external vendor named in the policy
Paid sick time
PTO bank (HCA policy references a Paid Time Off policy, HR.TR.007); one nurse's 2016 report describes no separate sick leave and a summer bonus for no sick calls at their facility.
From published reporting on the policy · 2026-09-23
Sources, read 2026-09-23
Employee-forum sources describe what workers say happened at their site. Policies can differ by location and contract.
The rules that sit above HCA Healthcare’s policy
Federal leave law lets an employer ask for medical certification and gives you at least 15 days to return it; disability law limits medical inquiries to what the job requires; twenty states and D.C. limit when any employer, HCA Healthcare included, may demand a note; and federal guidance treats a licensed physician’s online evaluation as telehealth. The statutes and sources are on the state-by-state doctor’s note law index and in are online doctor’s notes legal?
Other healthcare employers
Kaiser Permanente
Every employer’s sick-note rule, in one list
SickSlip is not affiliated with HCA Healthcare. Employer names are used to describe their published policies. Reviewed by Adam Z. Kawalek, MD (NPI 1326223306). Facts checked 2026-09-23.