U.S. Department of Labor
FLSA Hours Worked Advisor
Medical Attention
Seeking medical attention during your working hours at the direction of your employer or on your employer's premises for work related illness or injuries is hours worked. For example, an employee who cuts her hand on a machine during working hours is directed by her employer to see the company nurse. The time spent by the employee in waiting for and receiving medical attention from the company nurse is hours worked.
If your employer instructs you to get medical treatment, he or she is not required by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) to provide transportation or accompany you. However, the time required to travel to and from the place where medical attention is provided is hours worked, if this travel occurs during normal working hours, on a day when you are working.
If follow-up medical treatments are required during normal working hours on days when you are working, and your employer instructs you to get these treatments, the time spent in travel to and from, waiting for, and receiving the treatments would be hours worked. However, if you and the doctor arranged the follow-up medical treatments, but your employer does not instruct you to receive the treatments, the time would not be hours worked, even if your employer gave you permission to take off from work for the doctor’s appointment.
The FLSA does not require an employer to provide an employee with sick or personal time off with pay for illnesses or injuries. The terms and conditions for the use of such time off is a private matter for agreement between an employer and the employee or the employee’s authorized representative. For more information about time off for sick leave, click on the underlined text.
The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) provides certain employees with unpaid, job protected leave for certain family and medical reasons.
For more information, please contact your local Wage and Hour District Office or your state department of labor.
