Doctors disciplined by the UW School of Medicine and Public Health faced fines and suspension from leadership positions for writing sick notes to protestors in last February’s collective bargaining demonstrations, according to records obtained by the Wisconsin State Journal last Thursday.
Eleven faculty doctors and nine residents were fined up to $4,000 and temporarily relieved of leadership responsibilities.
For his role in organizing the sick note effort, family practitioner Dr. Lou Sanner was fined $4,001 and lost his leadership position on a temporary basis, according to the State Journal. He claims to have provided 18 sick notes at the Capitol.
The other ten faculty members were issued fines between $500 and $3,800—from one and a half to five days of pay—depending on their involvement. The residents received written reprimands from the university.
Some of the doctors were also disciplined by the Wisconsin Medical Examining Board in November, and were required to complete remedial courses in medical record keeping and pay fines.
The sick notes issued by the doctors at the Capitol protests allowed demonstrators, including state-employed teachers and school employees, to miss work under false pretenses.
