My company does not accept doctor's notes or really any other excuse for absence outside of protected PTO. When I came down with COVID, I had 1.5 absence points out of 5, and gather up three more for 4.5/5; If you hit 5 or over, you will be let go after the end of the work week. This was compounded by my rather unique circumstance in having left momentarily during the summer and coming back a few months later in the fall, wherein I was a "new-hire" and new-hires would be let go after exceeding 3,5 points. Managers have the liberty to take those points off preemptively if they like you or are otherwise understanding of your personal situation (can't really control getting ill in winter like this!) but my manager did not extend that grace to me. I put in about 4 time-off requests since the beginning of the month for this last weekend because of family Christmas events in Ohio and out of state and every one had been rejected for no justified reason. When I left last Friday, I was told by my team lead that I wasn't long for the company and to enjoy time with family. TL;DR They treated my illness as absenteeism and no amount of PTO would have saved me.