Legal Question in Employment Law in California

The California Fair Employment and Housing Act ("FEHA") and California Family Rights Act ("CFRA") prohibit employers from discriminating against people who have a disability and/or medical condition (including cancer), and from retaliating against an employee for requesting and/or taking medical leave. Both laws of some requirements that must be met before the employer and/or employee before they apply to someone's employment. The FEHA requires a minimum of 5 employees in order to apply to an employer, and the CFRA requires that more than 50 employees are employed within a 75 mile radius of your place of employment. The CFRA also only applies to employees who have worked for an employer for more than 1 year and have worked at least 1,250 hours within that year.

From what you wrote, it appears you may have claims under both FEHA and CFRA, assuming you and your employer meet the minimum requirements I've laid out above. However, even if only the FEHA applies, you still would potentially have claims for disability discrimination and retaliation, as well as for failure to accommodate a disability. As for them requesting a letter from your doctor, it's a somewhat trickier issue. You do not have to provide them with the specific medical issues, but depending on your job, there may be a situation where requesting a doctor's note attesting your fitness to perform your job duties, with or without an accommodation, is acceptable. You should speak with an employment attorney immediately to get a better assessment of your situation. My office would be happy to talk to you. Although our main office is in San Francisco, we represent clients throughout California and actually started in Los Angeles. You can visit our website at www.sarnofflaw.com or call (415) 788-0888.