Commissioned Corps Management Information Site

What documentation must an officer provide to their supervisor when requesting sick leave?

A supervisor may request a health provider note to justify an officer’s sick leave request at any time. In general such a note is usually required if the officer is on sick leave for more than three consecutive days. The provider note to the supervisor should state that the officer has a condition that requires the officer to be out on sick leave, the estimated date that the officer will return to the duty station, whether, upon return, the officer will likely require some temporary modifications of duty, and an estimate of when the officer can return to full duty. The supervisor is not entitled to request protected health information (PHI) such as a diagnosis.

When is an officer required to notify Medical Affairs Branch (MAB) regarding sick leave?

If an officer has been on sick leave for 30 consecutive days, they must submit a health provider note directly to MAB. This note is different from the one provided to the officer’s supervisor in that it must include documented clinical information. The note must include:

The current medical diagnosis
The officer’s current medical status
The officer’s previous and current treatment for the condition necessitating the sick leave
The estimated date when the officer can return to their duty station
Whether or not the officer will require temporary modifications of duty upon return to work
An estimate as to when the officer will be able to return to full duty.

Copies of treatment records that contain a single entry with the needed information can be substituted for this note.

If an officer knows that they will require over 30 days of sick leave (e.g. scheduled surgery), the officer should submit the above clinical documentation to MAB as soon as it is known that they will require the leave.

This clinical information must be updated and uploaded to MAB every 30 consecutive days that an officer is on sick leave (30 days, 60 days, 90 days, …).

This medical documentation should be scanned into a single PDF and uploaded through the medical section of eDOC-U using the document name, “Sick Leave Medical Documentation.”

In conjunction with this notification, an officer should strongly consider requesting a Deployment Waiver for their period of medical incapacity and, if needed, a waiver request for the Annual Physical Fitness Testing.

What if an officer’s supervisor questions the validity of a sick leave request?

The officer should refer the supervisor to MAB (PHSMACCHQ@hhs.gov). If MAB already has relevant information pertaining to the sick leave, MAB will not share that information, but will render an opinion to the supervisor as to whether the sick leave request is adequately supported by that information.

If MAB has no clinical information relevant to the officer’s sick leave request, MAB will contact the officer and request medical records or a health provider note. Per CCI 363.01, “Sick Leave,” Section 7-1.g., the officer is required to provide requested medical documentation to MAB so that MAB can discharge its official duties and responsibilities. After MAB has reviewed this information, MAB will contact the supervisor.

Does taking a lot of sick leave trigger a fitness-for-duty evaluation?

By policy, if an officer takes 90 consecutive days of sick leave or 120 days during the previous 365 days, the officer must be referred to MAB for consideration of fitness-for-duty (FFD) evaluation (Medical Review Board [MRB]). Please remember that maternity leave is a subcategory of sick leave so any sick leave taken immediately before delivery or at the end of maternity leave may trigger a FFD evaluation. Fortunately, in these circumstances, MAB now has the option to informally look at these cases and, if indicated, request that the officer not be required to go to an MRB

Medical Affairs Branch

Sick Leave

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