Employer sick-note rules
Does United Airlines accept an online doctor’s note?
Read this before you order. United flight attendants can cut a sick call from 2 points to 1.5 with a physician's note, but United says a virtual doctor visit and note are not permitted for that reduction. An online note, including ours, will not earn it. It can still document a leave.
What United Airlines workers are told
Note needed?
A physician's note is optional and only reduces a sick call by 0.5 point; it must show date of illness, exam date, return-to-work date and physician signature/credentials.
More
Explicitly: 'A Virtual Doctor visit and note are not permitted for this point reduction. You must be seen in person by a physician.' Illness over 6 days is 2 points with no note reduction. Separately, the contract (Section 13.C) requires an Absence Certificate from a health care provider after four sick incidents in 12 months, for sick leave over 12 calendar days, and can require one for July 1-7 and December 20-January 4 sick calls.
How absences count
Attendance & Dependability points (2026 contract Section 22.D; formerly JCBA §23.F.1): illness 6 days or less = 2 points (1.5 with a physician's note); over 6 days = 2 points; Did Not Fly 3; late boarding 1.5; late check-in 1. A July 2024 policy required 'verification of an incapacitating illness from an accredited physician' for Friday, Saturday and Sunday sick calls, and the Department of Labor said it was looking into it (HR Brew, Jul 31 2024).
Where to send it
Present the note in person or email a scan to your supervisor on or before your next scheduled assignment; AFA's June 2025 notice also lists HelpHub > Flight Attendant Point Reduction Request, while AFA Council 9's page says not to use HelpHub, so confirm with your supervisor.
Sick pay
Sick leave bank under the AFA contract.
Online notes
For the 0.5-point reduction, AFA's June 26 2025 notice says a virtual visit and note are not permitted and an in-person physician visit is required; the 2026 contract's definition of that note is unchanged.
More
Since May 31 2026 the separate Absence Certificate (Section 13.C, required after four sick incidents in 12 months or more than 12 days out) can come from a virtual or telemedicine visit with a health care provider.
Verified against the company’s own published policy · 2026-09-23
Sources
- Doctor's Note for Point Reduction (United AFA, Jun 26 2025) · company document
What it says
“A Virtual Doctor visit and note are not permitted for this point reduction. You must be seen in person by a physician.”
- Attendance and Dependability Point Values (United AFA, Aug 21 2019) · company document
What it says
“Illness/Injury 6 days or less with physician's note: 1.5 Points”
- A United Airlines policy requiring doctors' notes for sick leave is under scrutiny (HR Brew, Jul 31 2024) · news
What it says
“requires flight attendants who call in sick on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays to provide a doctor's note”
- United AFA 2026 Tentative Agreement (ratified May 12 2026), Section 22.D Attendance and Dependability Point Values · company document
What it says
“6 days or less, with physician's note 1.5 ... a written notation from the Flight Attendant's treating physician, or a physician affiliated with United Medical”
- UAL TA2 Booklet - Final (AFA United MEC, April 2026), Sick Leave summary of changes · company document
What it says
“Medical Verification - Absence certificates can now be completed by a 'Health Care Provider' (previously 'Accredited Physician') which includes virtual or 'telemedicine services'”
- Tentative Agreement Ratified! (United AFA, May 12 2026) · company document
What it says
“Today, United Airlines Flight Attendants voted to ratify the 2026 Tentative Agreement, with 88.85% of eligible members participating and 82% voting YES for Ratification.”
The rules that sit above United Airlines’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, United Airlines 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 airline employers
Southwest Airlines · American Airlines
Every employer’s sick-note rule, in one list
SickSlip is not affiliated with United Airlines (flight attendants). Employer names are used to describe their published policies. Reviewed by Adam Z. Kawalek, MD (NPI 1326223306). Facts checked 2026-09-23.