Legal Question in Employment Law in California

Your employer may very well have violated the law by terminating you after 12 weeks of disability. If your employer employs 50 or more employees and you have worked for that company for at least 12 months and 1,250 hours, and you are suffering from a serious health condition, your job is protected by the The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and The California Family Rights Act (CFRA). Under CFRA and FMLA your employer must give you up to 12 weeks of medical leave for your serious health condition, and may not retaliate against you for taking the leave when you return to work.

If your employer employs 5 or more employees, regardless of how long you have worked for the employer, if you medical condition qualifies as a disability, you are protected by the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA). Under the FEHA, the employer is required to reasonably accommodate your disability. A leave of absence is one type of reasonable accommodation. There is no specific length of time that is reasonable for a medical leave under the FEHA. Rather, the employer must have a conversation with you about how much more time off you need and make a determination whether providing you the additional time off requested will pose an undue hardship on the company. If it will not pose an undue hardship on the company to give you the additional time off, then the employer must give you the time off.

If you took your medical leave under CFRA/FMLA, your employer CANNOT simply fire you once your 12 weeks are up. Rather, the employer must have a conversation with you about how much more time you need and make a determination whether providing you the additional time off requested will pose an undue hardship on the company. However, you are not entitled to an INDEFINITE leave either. Thus, for example, if your doctor provides a note to your employer which states that you may NEVER be able to return to work, the company may legally be able to fire you.

You should speak with a tax advisor and/financial consultant regarding your IRA question.

If you believe your employer may have violated the law, please give us a call at (213) 536-4236, email us at [email protected], or fill out our online questionnaire and www.sarnofflaw.com.