Sick Leave & Doctor's-Note Rules in Seattle

If you work in Seattle and call in sick, your employer’s ability to demand a doctor’s note is limited by the city’s Paid Sick and Safe Time (PSST) ordinance, in effect since September 2012 and enforced today by the Seattle Office of Labor Standards. This guide explains the 2026 rules: how sick time accrues, exactly when a note can be required, and how a note from a licensed physician fits in. It’s general information, not legal advice.

What PSST gives you

PSST covers employees who work in Seattle, and the amount of time you accrue depends on your employer’s size, measured by full-time-equivalent (FTE) employees worldwide. All tiers accrue paid time as you work; the rate and the annual carryover cap rise with employer size:

• 1 to 49 FTEs (Tier 1): accrue 1 hour per 40 hours worked; carry over up to 40 hours per year.
• 50 to 249 FTEs (Tier 2): accrue 1 hour per 40 hours worked; carry over up to 56 hours per year.
• 250 or more FTEs (Tier 3): accrue 1 hour per 30 hours worked; carry over up to 72 hours (or more under some PTO arrangements).

“Sick and safe time” can be used for your own illness or care, a family member’s care, or certain safety situations involving domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking.

When can a Seattle employer require a doctor’s note?

The threshold is clear: an employer may not require verification until you have been absent more than three consecutive workdays. For an absence of three workdays or fewer, no note can be required.

Seattle also builds in a safeguard that not every city has. If the cost of obtaining verification would create an unreasonable burden or expense on you, you may use alternative verification: stating, orally or in writing, both that your use of PSST was for a covered purpose and that getting standard documentation would be a hardship. That means even a longer absence doesn’t necessarily require a paid trip to a clinic just to produce paperwork.

On privacy, the rule is strict: employers are not permitted to ask about the nature of your illness or the specific reason for your absence. Your employer may confirm that the time was used for a covered purpose, but cannot require you to disclose a diagnosis or medical details.

Who enforces it, and how state law interacts

PSST is administered and enforced by the Seattle Office of Labor Standards (OLS), which handles outreach, compliance help, and enforcement, and protects workers from retaliation. It’s codified in the Seattle Municipal Code.

Seattle workers are also covered by Washington’s statewide paid sick leave law, in effect since January 2018, which requires accrual of at least one hour per 40 hours worked. When a local ordinance is more generous than state law, the local provisions apply, so a Seattle employee gets whichever terms are more favorable, which in practice can mean PSST’s higher carryover caps or faster accrual for large employers. For the wider state context, see our overview of Washington doctor’s-note laws.

How an online doctor’s note fits in

Because a Seattle employer can only ask for verification after more than three consecutive workdays, and because you can fall back on alternative verification when a note would be a hardship, many absences need no formal documentation at all. When a note is the practical route, what your employer is entitled to is narrow: confirmation that your time off was for a covered purpose, not your diagnosis.

A note from a physician licensed in Washington can meet that need whether the evaluation happened in person or through a legitimate telehealth review. What makes a note valid is that a real, licensed clinician genuinely assessed your situation, not the format it came in. A document stating you were seen and that time off was appropriate gives your employer everything PSST allows it to ask for.

A few practical pointers for Seattle workers:

• For three consecutive workdays or fewer, your employer cannot require verification.
• If documentation would be a real burden or expense, you can use Seattle’s alternative-verification option instead.
• Keep any note minimal; you’re not required to disclose what was wrong with you, and the ordinance protects that.

Common misunderstandings

The most common mistake is thinking an employer can ask for proof after a single sick day. Under PSST it cannot; verification can’t be required until you’ve been absent more than three consecutive workdays. A second is overlooking the alternative-verification option: even past that threshold, if getting a note would be an unreasonable burden or expense, you can verify the covered purpose in writing instead of paying for documentation. A third is assuming you must explain your illness; Seattle bars employers from asking about the nature of the illness or the specific reason for the absence.

It also helps to separate PSST from other leave programs. Paid sick and safe time is not the same as federal family or medical leave, state-administered paid family and medical leave, or workers’ compensation, each with its own paperwork and eligibility. CuroNote’s guides, and any note a licensed physician might issue, concern routine sick-time documentation for work or school, not those programs. If your situation involves a serious or extended condition, that’s a conversation for your own clinician and, where appropriate, an employment attorney.

What to do if you’re asked for a note

If your employer requests verification after a qualifying absence, you have options. You can provide a brief note confirming the time was used for a covered purpose, or, if obtaining one would be a genuine hardship, use the alternative-verification route the ordinance provides. Either way, you don’t have to disclose your diagnosis. If you believe your employer is requiring verification for short absences or asking about the nature of your illness, the Seattle Office of Labor Standards investigates complaints and protects workers from retaliation. Keeping a copy of whatever you submit, with the relevant dates, is sensible in case a question comes up later.

CuroNote is preparing to launch online doctor’s-note services and is not yet issuing notes. This page is here to help you understand your rights under Seattle law in the meantime. For related reading, see do you actually need a doctor’s note?, can employers verify a note?, and are online doctor’s notes legal?.