FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Senator Pam Galloway February 21, 2011      (715) 570-5392 

Senator Galloway Statement on Fraudulent Sick Notes

Senator Pam Galloway (R‐Wausau), released the following statement today:

“Over the weekend, various news outlets have reported that some physicians were handing out medical excuse notes to protestors attending rallies at the State Capitol.  There is video footage of this including notes signed by a physician who is employed as an associate professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.  I have no issue with public employees who went in to see their physicians and obtained a note after being examined.  However, I am outraged that doctors allegedly stood on street corners in downtown Madison passing out medical excuses like leaflets.  Make no mistake these medical excuses are as flimsy as the paper they were written on. 

As a physician, I took an oath to uphold professional standards.  To hand out an excuse without properly evaluating a patient is both unethical and fraudulent.  I am confident that reports of this will trigger a review of the medical licenses of those found to be responsible for engaging in this behavior.  For those employers requiring a medical excuse to avoid taking disciplinary actions for unexcused absences, I would urge them to closely examine the validity of these notes. On a state level, I will be looking into this situation and urge the State Medical Examining Board to conduct a full investigation.”