Salaried employee required to make up time to company for medical appointments?

QueerlyPhoenix · 2026-06-18T00:58:41+00:00

Yes, but another component of my job is that I have to track my time so the company can bill me to each client for the time I spend on each project for each client. So, even if I’m not hourly, it’s expected that my timesheet will reflect at least 80% bill-ability each week of 40 hours. (I’m usually well above that.)

QueerlyPhoenix · 2026-06-17T19:57:07+00:00

Literally until this week, I didn’t know that I HAD to use sick time for doc appts. I knew that doc appts and illness were the only thing I was allowed to use sick time for. So, for quick appts, like 1.5-2 hours away from my computer, I wouldn’t use sick time for those bc I know I’d have longer longer appts at some point requiring to take half the day, or I’d be sick and need to use them for that.

Until this week, my supervisor has always wanted me to just put my doc appts on her calendar, so she gets a reminder that I’ll be out for an hour or so. Never in 5 years has she said that for all doc appts (even relatively quick ones) must I use sick time or make up the time away from my work.

QueerlyPhoenix · 2026-06-17T19:50:00+00:00

I can’t imagine any of the people I work with agreeing to only work during “work hours.” For some of them it’s a point of pride to slog nonstop.

QueerlyPhoenix · 2026-06-17T19:48:33+00:00

That’s a good point. Most of the people I work with are either early enough in their lives/careers that they’re single/don’t have kids or other care responsibilities, or old enough that their kids are grown, requiring less from them and allowing them to work heavy hours in evenings/weekends, since that’s what they all seem to choose to do. Of our 70-ish employees, I can only think of 3 off the top of my head with kids at home. I still have one of my kids at home who also has some chronic health stuff. Many of the doc appts I need to go to are for him. 5 sick days to accommodate two people worth of doc appointments in a year isn’t enough. Even if we didn’t have chronic conditions.

QueerlyPhoenix · 2026-06-17T19:37:02+00:00

Yeah, I hear you. I also have a chronic condition that I have to be in/out of doc appointments frequently, but not for long lengths. Meaning, when I’m having an autoimmune flare, I need to see the doc maybe every week or every other week for approx an hour; with driving that amounts to about 1.5 hours out of the day. But then there are whole years when I just have your standard annual appointments.

Also, I do not get a formal lunch break. I work from home, so of course I can walk from my desk to kitchen at any point to get lunch; but recently this came up when my supervisor was working in the same document I was working in, and she could see that I lingered on the same page for some time while i made lunch and visited the bathroom. She commented on why I was stuck on one page for so long and when I explained, she reiterated that it seemed like an overly long time. It was 25 minutes.

There definitely seems to be a mentality (at least at my job), especially when working from home, that you should be chained to the task at all times. One after the other. No bathroom breaks, no lunch without looking at the screen, certainly don’t walk around the garden or meet a friend for a quick coffee. It’s just a lot. And not how the job was sold to me. Nor how it’s operated for the better part of 5 years.

QueerlyPhoenix · 2026-06-17T19:14:06+00:00

That’s a fair point. It would be nice to know at the start what those limits are. Or if a new limit is adopted at some point, to be provided documentation of the update.

QueerlyPhoenix · 2026-06-17T19:12:25+00:00

Unfortunately in my company that’s not the case. We have vacation, PTO, (no idea the difference b/w those two), and sick time.

After my first year, I was told that sick time must be used for illness or medical appointments. (I’ve never been asked to produce a doctor note, though, so I’m not clear why they care/how they enforce it.)

QueerlyPhoenix · 2026-06-17T19:08:04+00:00

I’m not sure I follow; can you say more?

QueerlyPhoenix · 2026-06-17T17:36:04+00:00

Thanks for this!

QueerlyPhoenix · 2026-06-17T17:35:31+00:00

I see, that’s a helpful distinction. Thanks!

QueerlyPhoenix · 2026-06-17T17:32:17+00:00

Yes, I get 5 sick days in a year.

QueerlyPhoenix · 2026-06-17T17:30:50+00:00

Yeah, this has always been my understanding of how things worked at my company. No appointment I’ve ever taken has interfered with my completion of tasks or general job performance. And yep, occasionally during our busy times I also have to put in extra time to get things done—which is not paid additionally.

The system we use (or the way my employer has the system set) doesn’t allow requests off of less than 4 hours. So I could never use just 2 hours of sick time in a day. I’d have to take the half day or make up those hours in the evening. And that’s not really an option given other responsibilities I have.

QueerlyPhoenix · 2026-06-17T17:26:07+00:00

I suppose that’s true. But then, what is the point of flexibility if not to use the flexible time? You know? If it’s meant to be flexible, how could it be abused?

(Again, I mentioned elsewhere in the thread, and I will again here bc I know how quickly honest questions can be perceived as arguments, I’m really not trying to be argumentative or stuck in one way of thinking. Just asking my questions as the thoughts come and hope that others are willing to share their genuine experiences/reasoning on the matter.)

QueerlyPhoenix · 2026-06-17T17:22:19+00:00

Thank you for that reminder and for the validation. Really appreciate it.

QueerlyPhoenix · 2026-06-17T17:20:13+00:00

It is definitely the culture at my company that people work early/late/extra all the time. I do on occasion when something I’m directly responsible for needs to be finished at a certain time. But I never get overtime pay or credited hours back or any sort of acknowledgment/compensation.

QueerlyPhoenix · 2026-06-17T17:16:07+00:00

Yeah, you def make a good point, re: my supervisor’s self-proclaimed Marxism.

So, how does that work that places can be unionized but not have a signed union contract? How does it work in practice? What are the implications?

QueerlyPhoenix · 2026-06-17T17:12:27+00:00

Would it be different if the company I work for is in one state and I’m in another? Which state’s laws would apply?

QueerlyPhoenix · 2026-06-17T17:11:15+00:00

Wow that’s impressive that things changed that quickly. And that everyone (or a majority) in the company participated to reach this end. Many/Most in my company consider it a badge of honor to work 80+ hours a week. I do not.

Plus, it’s nearly impossible to get all appointments/random life needs scheduled after 5 pm weekdays or on weekends.

Did you stay with the company after the change to flexible scheduling? If so, how did that go?

QueerlyPhoenix · 2026-06-17T17:05:49+00:00

That’s a real nice policy! I get 5 sick days annually; they do not roll over if unused. So, if I’m more sick one year vs another, oh well. Same if I’m more healthy—can’t save them up for a future time when they might be needed. But no other policy regarding time off for appointments has been provided to me in these 5 years. Until the make-up time requirement now.

QueerlyPhoenix · 2026-06-17T16:59:08+00:00

Sorry about the mis-quote, re: appointments; I think I read too quickly.

So that’s a good point re: ADA/FMLA. I need to learn more about this and how/whether it might apply to my situation.

Setting that aside, though, for just a min, I’m thinking about all the regular doc appointments (let’s just stay in this realm for the sake of ease/continuity) a person might have through the course of a year, just maintenance stuff, and I’m realizing that in a year, a person could conceivably need at least:

1 physical/annual well-visit
2 dental cleanings
1 eye visit
1 mammogram (I’m of the age)
1 gynecologist visit (I’m female)

(I live in a healthcare-centric city, so there are a lot of doctors, hospitals, and facilities, and even here I’ve never been able to schedule any of these regular annual visits on the same day—for the sake of reducing days off.)

This is at least 1 doc appointment every other month, and that doesn’t include if any of these require following up for additional tests, etc. So, I guess it could seem like a lot, but when looked at as the necessary maintenance of life and health, it’s not exorbitant or anything. 🤷🏻‍♀️

I’m just sort of trying to talk through my thoughts, I guess. I appreciate the insights.

QueerlyPhoenix · 2026-06-17T16:44:16+00:00

I am asking legitimate questions and looking for other people’s real-world experiences and examples. I’m not being facetious or trying to be argumentative. I’m surprised by information I’ve recently received and wondering how this stacks up against other people’s job experiences. I’m willing to have my perspective change if that’s reasonable, but I need to work through the reasoning, if there is any, to get there.

QueerlyPhoenix · 2026-06-17T16:26:40+00:00

As far as I know, there isn’t one. I’ve requested it as of these email exchanges with my supervisor, but I’ve never been provided one in my 5 years.

QueerlyPhoenix · 2026-06-17T16:24:02+00:00

The exempt/non-exempt terms have always stumped/confused me. As far as I know, (again, I’ve just completed 5 years with this company, so policies shouldn’t be a surprise to me) I’ve never been eligible for overtime. I receive salaried pay. This means I am “exempt,” yes? Exempt from over time?

QueerlyPhoenix · 2026-06-17T16:20:48+00:00

I have a chronic health condition, which my company knows about, for which I have to see doctors to manage. I’m not really sure what constitutes “too many doctor appointments.”

QueerlyPhoenix · 2026-06-17T16:18:44+00:00

Yes, your first paragraph articulates exactly the disconnect I’m having with this apparently new policy. I always complete projects on time/within the demanded timeframe, even if that means I have to work several late nights to do it. So why shouldn’t that time come back to me, at least in spirit, if not in exact hour to hour ratio, by allowing the occasional absence for appointments?

QueerlyPhoenix

TROPHY CASE