Legal Question in Employment Law in California

Sick leave and gender discrimination

I have been working for this company for the past 9 mos. During my first month I had to have surgery for a condition I didn't kow I had until then.The company aproved my 3 week absence for recovery and I kept in touch with them during that time. All necessary medical proof and paperwork were given to the company.Unfortunately the surgery did not fix my condition which leaves me in a lot of pain and I have to take strong pain killers in order to help.So I had to have more medical treatment and missed more work.I would try to schedule my appts at end or beginning of day,I work in a predominantly male environment and was given a bad 30 day review eventhough I missed 3 weeks out of it.Last week I asked for a day off to take my mother to the airport and was asked by my boss if I wanted to go part-time.I reminded him that the reason I had missed before was due to illness and I'm much better now.A maleco-worker who has been working there for 2mos told me this week that h's taking a month off in november and that the same boss aproved it.My husband is in the marines and is coming back next week,from deployment and I'm affraid to ask for a day off and lose my job. the boss told a superior to make sure he kept me busy. can anyone help?


Asked on 9/18/05, 10:25 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Patrick Turner Patrick E. Turner Inc. APLC

Re: Sick leave and gender discrimination

Because you have only been with the company a short period of time, you would not qualify for FMLA or CFRA leave and job protection, assuming the employer is obligated to provide it. However, some courts have held that specific lengths of time away from work can qualify as "accommodations" associated with a disability. There's not enough information in your question, determined if this protection would apply to you. However, if you are receiving bad performance reviews, because of the disability and the associated accommodation, you may have a claim for disability discrimination. The facts in your question do not provide sufficient information to establish a gender discrimination claim; you should probably speak with an experienced employment law practitioner in your area for further evaluation. Finally, in most cases, an attorney cannot do much other than provide advice if the employee has not been terminated or otherwise suffered an adverse employment action such as demotion or suspension. However, it may be worth your peace of mind to make an appointment with an employee rights attorney, if for no other reason than to discuss in-depth what's happening to you.

Read more
Answered on 9/23/05, 7:16 pm


Related Questions & Answers

More Labor and Employment Law questions and answers in California