So at the moment, I have no car and I have to walk my job knows I have to catch the bus or get rides sometimes. I was carrying heavy groceries back home and ended up getting a little upper back strain a day and a half later. The day of my shift. (Friday) So I debated on going or not. My job is very strenuous. Sometimes I have to serve food and carry several plates at once and grab heavy containers from high levels etc; so I made the decision to call out as that would’ve been a bit much for me. I explained that the strain I was feeling was just from me overworking the muscle as you would with a workout and it was just strain. I was cut off by my manager on the phone while explaining and she goes “I’m not a doctor. That’s above my pay grade. I’m not about to sit here and diagnose you” (this is how the managers talk to their employees btw) and that I’d need a note from my doctor to clear me to go back to work. I don’t have insurance so getting an appointment sometimes can take days or weeks and we don’t have free urgent care where I live and the hospitals are always filled up (that’s hours of wait time). So today I was scheduled (Sunday) 2 days later and I called to be sure that I wasn’t able to come in because of not having a doctor’s note and she’s like “Yes the general manager said you would need a note from the doctor to clear you to work” THEN says “You’re still scheduled for your shift today.” Mind you, I called like 30 minutes before cause I was under the impression that I needed a note to come back and was just clarifying because that’s how they said it, so now I’m getting a write-up for improper call out. I’m like am I in the wrong here with all of this or what because I’m confused.
TL;DR: Job told me I’d need a doctor’s note to clear me to come back to work. When I called the day of my scheduled shift “today” I was told to come in, but I can’t so now I’m getting a write up. If you tell me I need a note to clear me to “come back to work” then don’t expect me to show up for my scheduled day without it.