Employer sick-note rules

Does JBS USA accept an online doctor’s note?

JBS plants use points. At Greeley, points could be recouped only with a doctor's note and a call to the attendance hotline. Figures are from 2020 and vary by plant.

What JBS USA workers are told

Note needed?

At Greeley, points could be recouped only with a doctor's note AND a call to the English-only attendance hotline; JBS said it did not assess points 'for absences due to documented illness' during the pandemic.

How absences count

Plant points system (2020 reporting): Greeley, CO allowed 7.5 points before firing pre-pandemic, cut to 6; Marshalltown, IA 7. JBS reset all workers' points to zero in late July 2020.

Where to send it

Call the plant attendance hotline (English-only at Greeley in 2020, per UFCW Local 7); to get points removed, Greeley workers needed a doctor's note and submitted screenshots of their call history to the union.

Sick pay

Not published; Greeley workers are represented by UFCW Local 7, and Colorado's paid-sick-leave law applies.

From published reporting on the policy · 2026-09-23

Get a doctor’s note · $29.99A licensed physician reviews your case online, same day. Your HR can verify it at sickslip.co/verify.

Sources

JBS USA has not published its hourly attendance policy on a public page we could find. What is above comes from the sources below. If you work at JBS USA and your handbook says otherwise, tell us at support@sickslip.co and we will correct this page.

Meatpacking workers say attendance policy forces them to work (Investigate Midwest, Oct 2020) · news
What it says
“at no point during the pandemic have we assessed attendance points against team members for absences due to documented illness”

The rules that sit above JBS USA’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, JBS USA 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 manufacturing employers

Tesla · Tyson Foods · General Motors · Stellantis · Boeing

Every employer’s sick-note rule, in one list

SickSlip is not affiliated with JBS USA. Employer names are used to describe their published policies. Reviewed by Adam Z. Kawalek, MD (NPI 1326223306). Facts checked 2026-09-23.

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