Employer sick-note rules · logistics
Does USPS accept an online doctor’s note?
USPS has the clearest rule on this list. For three days or less your own statement is usually accepted. For more than three days, medical documentation is required, and it must state that you were unable to work on those dates. A note that only says you were seen is not enough.
What USPS workers are told
Absences tracked
Federal ELM rules, not points: supervisors approve/disapprove sick leave on PS Form 3971; employees with a pattern may be placed on 'restricted sick leave' requiring documentation for every absence.
Note required
3 days or less: the employee's own statement may be accepted unless on restricted sick leave or the supervisor 'deems documentation desirable.' More than 3 days: medical documentation or other acceptable evidence of incapacity is required. Documentation must explain the illness enough to show incapacity; 'under my care' or 'received treatment' is not acceptable; the documentation must explain the illness enough to show incapacity for the dates; ELM 513.364 does not use the word 'diagnosis'.
Where to submit
Report unscheduled leave through eLRA on LiteBlue, or call the Interactive Voice Response line at 877-477-3273 and select option 4; submit PS Form 3971 and documentation to the supervisor.
Paid sick time
Career employees accrue 4 hours sick leave per pay period (13 days/year); Career employees accrue 4 hours of sick leave per pay period (13 days a year; part-time career employees 1 hour per 20 paid hours). CCAs earn annual leave, not sick leave, at 1 hour per 20 paid hours and use it for illness; PSE and MHA rules are in their union contracts.
Verified against the company’s own published policy · 2026-09-23
Sources, read 2026-09-23
The rules that sit above USPS’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, USPS 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 logistics employers
UPS · FedEx
Every employer’s sick-note rule, in one list
SickSlip is not affiliated with USPS. Employer names are used to describe their published policies. Reviewed by Adam Z. Kawalek, MD (NPI 1326223306). Facts checked 2026-09-23.