CACI 2611 Affirmative Defense—Fitness for Duty Statement

California Civil Jury Instructions CACI

2611 Affirmative Defense—Fitness for Duty Statement


[Name of defendant] claims that [he/she/nonbinary pronoun/it] refused to return [name of plaintiff] to work because [he/she/nonbinary pronoun] did not provide a written statement from [his/her/nonbinary pronoun] health-care provider that [he/she/nonbinary pronoun] was fit to return to work. To succeed, [name of defendant] must prove both of the following:

1.That [name of defendant] has a uniformly applied practice or policy that requires employees on leave because of their own serious health condition to provide a written statement from their health-care provider that they are able to return to work; and

2.That [name of plaintiff] did not provide [name of defendant] with a written statement from [his/her/nonbinary pronoun] health-care provider of [his/her/nonbinary pronoun] fitness to return to work.


Sources and Authority

Certification on Health Care Provider: Child Care. Government Code section 12945.2(i).

Certification of Health Care Provider: Return to Work. Government Code section 12945.2(j)(4).

“Health Care Provider” Defined. Government Code section 12945.2(b)(9).

Notice and Certification. Cal. Code Regs., tit. 2, § 11088(b).


Secondary Sources

8 Witkin, Summary of California Law (11th ed. 2017) Constitutional Law, §§ 1056–1060
Chin et al., California Practice Guide: Employment Litigation, Ch. 12-B, Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)/California Family Rights Act (CFRA), ¶¶ 12:311, 12:880, 12:884, 12:915 (The Rutter Group)
1 Wilcox, California Employment Law, Ch. 8, Leaves of Absence, § 8.26 (Matthew Bender)