An employee who fails to return to work after being released by the healthcare provider will be deemed to have abandoned their position after how many consecutive days of unauthorized absence?

• A. Two consecutive days
• B. Four consecutive days
• C. Five consecutive days
• D. Three consecutive workdays

Answer: (D)

When an employee has been medically cleared to return but does not, the policy treats the situation as abandonment after a short, definite period of unsanctioned absence. The trigger is three consecutive workdays. This means that if the employee misses three days in a row on a work schedule after being released, the position is considered abandoned and the employer may take action accordingly. Using workdays keeps the clock aligned with when the employee would normally be expected to be at work; weekends or holidays typically aren’t counted unless the policy says otherwise. Two days isn’t enough to declare abandonment, and longer spans like four or five days aren’t the defined trigger in this rule.