Many employees are entitled to take medical leave, provided that they meet the requirements. But when you discover that your boss has terminated you while you are recovering from an illness or injury, you might have questions about whether what the company did was legal and if there is any form of recourse.
Legal protections during medical leave
California law may allow you to take up to 12 weeks of job-protected leave in a 12-month period for a qualifying serious health condition . You generally qualify once you have worked for the company for at least one year and logged at least 1,250 hours.
Federal law offers similar protection if at least 50 employees work within 75 miles of your worksite. In many cases, these protections generally require your employer to restore you to the same job or a comparable position when your leave ends.
It is worth knowing that your employer can still end your employment for a reason unrelated to your absence, such as a layoff that would have affected your position regardless of your leave. The legal issue is whether the company acted on that independent basis or used your leave, medical condition or request for accommodation when deciding to fire you.
Warning signs of retaliation
Certain patterns may raise questions about whether your leave request prompted your termination:
- A dismissal that comes days or weeks after you ask for medical leave
- A negative performance review that appears only after you disclose a medical condition
- An unreasonable delay or refusal to engage in the accommodation process after you request workplace accommodations
- A different explanation each time you ask why the company let you go
No single warning sign proves that your employer acted illegally, and suspicious timing alone may not be enough. The broader question is whether the facts together suggest that the company’s stated reason for firing you may be incomplete or false.
Steps for filing your claim
California employment claims involving protected medical leave, disability discrimination or retaliation often begin with the California Civil Rights Department. You start by submitting an intake form online, by mail or by phone. In employment cases, you generally must do so within three years of the date you were last harmed.
After you submit the form, a representative may interview you and decide whether the agency will accept a formal complaint for investigation. If you want to proceed in court instead of through the agency investigation, you can request an immediate right-to-sue notice, and you generally have one year from that notice to file a lawsuit.
Whichever path you consider, the records you keep can affect how clearly you explain what happened. Preserve emails, leave requests, doctor’s notes, communications with human resources, performance reviews and termination paperwork before you lose access to company systems.