Legal Question in Employment Law in New York

Whether or not your employer can fire you depends on two things. First, is your employer covered by the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA)? The FMLA requires all employers with 50+ employees to provide up to 12 weeks of unpaid medical leave in a 12 month period. From the dates given, your employer obviously terminated you before the 12 weeks leave had expired. If your employer has 50 or more employees, then your FMLA rights have been violated, and you can file a lawsuit under that statute.

If your employer have fewer than 50 employees, then it is not covered by the FMLA. Therefore, the only other limitation for firing you would be if it violated a formal employment policy of the company. In other words, if your employer has a formal policy that provides for medical leave, the employer needs to comply with its own policy.