'Is This Even Legal?': Redditor Claims They Were Asked to Bring Doctor's Note to Interview

It may be common practice for some companies to ask an employee to bring in a doctor's note when they miss work, but a Redditor shared in a viral post that they were asked to bring one when they weren't able to make a job interview.

In u/p-heiress's post on the subreddit "Antiwork," which received more than 30,000 votes, the Redditor explained they were asked to come in for a job interview with a store they applied to. However, the interview conflicted with a doctor's appointment that was made four months in advance with a specialist. u/p-heiress offered to do the interview early that morning or a different day.

"They told me to bring them a doctor's note with me to my interview which they scheduled for the next day, same time," the Redditor wrote. "Is this even legal? I think I'm going to the interview and ask them what their deal is."

u/p-heiress added that the interviewer asked if it was possible for them to reschedule their doctor's appointment.

"I said no that it's a specialist that I've been scheduled to see for over 4 months now and that's when she got a bit of an attitude and said, 'well, just make sure when you come in on Wednesday at 1pm to bring a doctors note,' and I replied with, 'see you Wednesday' and hung up so she didn't even ask if I could make it to the second date/time she set up," the Redditor wrote.

According to the Society for Human Resource Management, the protocol for employers for a doctor's note is generally acceptable, but it may depend on the circumstances.

For example, an employer can request a doctor's note as part of the company's sick leave or attendance policy, but the note should not include a diagnosis. Instead, it should simply verify an employee was seen by a doctor.

When it comes to other instances, like workers' compensation, asking for a doctor's note or release to return to work after an injury while on the job is acceptable.

Many commenters wrote that u/p-heiress should reconsider participating in the job interview.

"'If you already have issues trusting me in this process, what is my day to day workplace experience expected to be?'" u/againsterik wrote as a question the Redditor should keep in mind.

Another commenter, u/Kurtcobangle, commented that u/p-heiress should go to the interview to ask that very question to "waste their time arguing about it."

u/Fonalder urged the Redditor to not interview at all.

"They acting like they own you just because you applied," the commenter wrote. "Imagine what they'll do if you sign on the dotted line."

Some shared their personal experiences with job interviews gone wrong.

One, in particular, wrote that they applied for a job and were asked to interview on a specific day, which they were unable to do. When u/campfire_vampire gave their availability, they were told interviews were only being conducted that one day and had to withdraw their application.

"This interaction told [me] everything I needed to know about the job I had applied for," u/campfire_vampire concluded.

In an update, u/p-heiress wrote they ultimately decided to skip the interview but called their corporate offices to inform them of what happened.

"I looked into it and while it's not illegal, it's definitely not required and a very odd thing to ask of someone who only applied," the Redditor wrote.

Although a frustrating situation, the Redditor said it was a pleasant surprise to find many commenters agree that it was a "strange" ask to provide a doctor's note at an interview.

The experience gave the Redditor something to think about for future job interviews.

"I hope to be more bold in my decisions when it comes to stating my availability," u/p-heiress told Newsweek. "And not offering up this much information as many people stated is unnecessary."

Updated 12/29/2021, 4:08 p.m. ET: This story has been updated with comments from Redditor u/p-heiress.