STD and Medical Exams

brown

I have an employee who is out. According to her doctor, it will be 2-3 weeks. Our company pays short term disability where there is medical documentation. I have reason to doubt her illness, can I make her submit to a medical exam by a doctor of my choosing (at my own cost)? Our policies say that I can - though I'm sure that legally I can....

crawfod

You're probably within your rights if your policy allows it in this situation, but your attorney could best advise. I am going to assume that your STD plan has a waiting period before benefits begin, and you indicate medical documentation is required and has been provided. If you don't have enough information on the medical forms that does not clearly identify the facts, then you may need to change your forms. Otherwise, I would have to trust a licensed medical doctor's statement and let it go. Now if an employee was going to be out for several months and was in a critical job position and I had significant information contrary to what her doctor said, then I might challenge it. Otherwise I don't see what you will gain for a 2-3 week absence. You will be questioning not only your employee's honesty and integrity but also her doctor's, plus spending money plus requiring the employee to spend their recovery time in another doctor's office plus she may even expect to be paid for her time. Unless there is more to this story, this has the makings of a can of worms.