Employer sick-note rules · gig
Does Uber accept an online doctor’s note?
Uber drivers are independent contractors. There is no attendance policy and no note is ever needed to go offline. A note only matters for the few city and state gig sick-pay programs or an insurance claim.
What Uber (drivers) workers are told
Absences tracked
Not applicable, drivers are independent contractors with no attendance policy; deactivation is based on ratings, cancellations, fraud and safety conduct, not on time offline (Uber deactivation policy).
Note required
Never required to go offline. A note can matter only where drivers have sick pay: Seattle's App-Based Worker Paid Sick and Safe Time ordinance (the company may ask for reasonable verification for more than 3 consecutive days) and New York State under the 2023 Attorney General settlement with Uber and Lyft. California's Prop 22 provides no sick pay.
Paid sick time
No employer sick leave. Exceptions: Seattle paid sick and safe time (1 day per 30 days with a Seattle stop) and New York State sick pay under the 2023 AG settlement (1 hour per 30 hours, up to 56 hours a year). California's Prop 22 gives a health care stipend, not sick pay.
Verified against the company’s own published policy · 2026-09-23
What a SickSlip note shows Uber HR
The physician’s name and NPI number, the dates you are excused, a document ID, and a verification link HR can open without calling anyone. It does not include your diagnosis. Whether Uber accepts it depends on the rule above, not on where the physician saw you: no US state law limits a sick note to in-person visits, and the federal telehealth rules are on telehealth.hhs.gov.
Your state may limit what Uber can demand
Twenty states and the District of Columbia have a paid-sick-leave law, and most of them only let an employer ask for a note after three consecutive days. Company policy cannot override that. Check yours in the state-by-state doctor’s note law index.
Sources, read 2026-09-23
- Uber, Lyft, DoorDash workers remain contractors due to California Supreme Court ruling (KPBS, Jul 2024) (news, read 2026-09-23) “Uber, Lyft, DoorDash workers remain contractors”
- App-Based Worker Paid Sick and Safe Time Ordinance - Seattle Office of Labor Standards (government, read 2026-09-23) “A covered entity may request reasonable verification from the worker for uses more than 3 consecutive days.”
- Lyft and Uber Settlement - New York Attorney General (government, read 2026-09-23) “For each 30 hours you work, you earn one hour of sick pay. ... You can earn up to 56 hours of sick time per year.”
- Deactivations: Losing Account Access - Uber (official, read 2026-09-23) “A driver or delivery person can lose access to part or all of the Uber platform for ratings that are below the minimum average rating in their city.”
The rules that sit above Uber’s policy
- Federal leave (FMLA). An employer may require medical certification for a serious health condition, and must give you at least 15 calendar days to return it. 29 CFR 825.305 and U.S. Department of Labor Fact Sheet 28G.
- Disability (ADA). Points systems applied to disability-related absences have been challenged; medical inquiries must be job-related and consistent with business necessity. EEOC enforcement guidance.
- State paid-sick-leave law. Twenty states and D.C. limit when any employer, Uber included, may demand a note. Every state’s rule, with the statute.
- Telehealth. Federal guidance treats secure messaging with a licensed provider as telehealth; no state law limits a sick note to in-person visits. telehealth.hhs.gov.
Other gig employers
DoorDash
All employers
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SickSlip is not affiliated with Uber (drivers). Employer names are used to describe their published policies. Reviewed by Adam Z. Kawalek, MD (NPI 1326223306). Facts checked 2026-09-23.