Legal Question in Employment Law in California

Re: Termination for illness in at-will state

While the general rule of law is that "at-will" employers may terminate employment for any legal reason, including excessive absences, there are exceptions.

One such exception is if you meet all the requirements covered under the medical family leave act. This law applies to large employers (at least 50 employees within a 75 mile radius of where you work). You must have worked, full-time, for a least a year. If so, you should request that your absence due to a serious illness be covered under the FMLA.

Under the FMLA (and the Calif. equivalent), you may take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave and be permitted to return to your job.

This law has been discussed in many postings on this site. You may wish to read them to learn more about different situations that apply.

Re: Termination for illness in at-will state

At will means what it says. You can be terminated any time unless you are protected by some law. Repeated minor medical leaves would not likely qualify you for FMLA protection, but you requet such status of leave for each occurance. FMLA is for major or serious medical problems, not typically colds/flues, etc.