It has become easy to hear a new rule about medical notes in one province and turn it into company policy everywhere. An HR team with employees in different jurisdictions may even receive conflicting answers from managers who each read an apparently authoritative headline. The difficulty is that asking for evidence of a short sickness absence, assessing a longer protected medical leave, and obtaining functional information for an accommodation are different legal tasks. A single national sick note rule cannot do all three. Ontario has a specific prohibition for ESA sick leave. Since October 28, 2024, an employer covered by Ontario's Employment Standards Act can't require a certificate from a qualified health practitioner as evidence of entitlement to the 3 day statutory sick leave. Other evidence may be requested only where reasonable in the circumstances, and the law doesn't turn a brief absence into an opportunity to demand medical details that aren't necessary. A separate Ontario long term illness leave introduced in 2025 has different certification rules.
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