Were You Fired for Your Age, a Medical Issue, or Both?
Many people who call us about age discrimination have a health issue in their story that they don’t think really matters. They’ll say, “I’m 60 and they replaced me with someone in their 30s.” But when we ask a few more questions, a pattern emerges:
Age + A Medical Issue Too Often Results in a Discriminatory Termination
They took a medical leave for surgery or some kind of treatment or recovery before the termination . Or they told their boss about a potential new medical diagnosis or the possibility of a need for medical leave in the future. Or they simply started needing accommodations of some kind because of an injury or health condition.
It usually becomes pretty clear: Their employer didn’t fire them for being 60. Their employer fired them because a 60-year-old who has health issues “is on their way out” and may become a liability or at least slow things down. A 34-year-old is not perceived to have those risks.
So, it is not just age discrimination. It is also disability discrimination. And California has some of the strictest laws in the country prohibiting both.
We've Been Proving Age Discrimination + Disability / Medical / FMLA Discrimination for 25+ Years
Here’s a common story: An experienced employee — someone who has been performing well for years — develops a health condition or needs medical leave.
Maybe it’s a surgery. Maybe it’s a chronic condition that requires ongoing treatment. Maybe it’s a mental health challenge like depression or anxiety.
An employer who valued this employee’s experience for years now sees a “problem.” The health condition becomes a reason to question the employee’s reliability, productivity, or future with the company. Suddenly the employer “can no longer accommodate your leave.”
Or suddenly the employee is written up for things that were never issues before. Or their position is “eliminated.”
Or they return from medical leave to find that their job seems to have changed and shortly after they return, they are suddenly not needed anymore–a restructure or something. Or maybe the employer tries to hide that it hired someone to replace them and wants to keep the replacement (who is not a health/age risk).
The employer will always say the termination had nothing to do with age or health. But California courts look at what actually happened, not what the employer claims. And that is what we do at sickandfired.com lawyers – prove what actually happened.
You May Have Both an Age Discrimination Claim and a Disability Discrimination Claim
Many people don’t realize that a single termination can violate multiple California laws at the same time. If you are an older worker fired fired for reasons related to your health, you may have claims under:
The California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) — which prohibits discrimination against older workers and discrimination based on medical leave and health-related issues.
Many employers do not realize that even if they believe a worker has “used up” all available medical or FMLA – CFRA leave, the employees still have a right to leave as a reasonable accommodation.
And using “it costs too much or “we just had to replace you permanently” do not justify termination in our experience proving discrimination cases under FEHA.
Bottom line: When an older employee is terminated (40+ is protected) and either has a health issue or may have a health issue or recently had a health issue or health-related incident or absence / medical leave, we often prove age and health were factors–and both are generally unlawful reasons for termination.
Signs Your Termination Involved Age and Disability Discrimination
“I thought it was just about my age.”
Often, when an employee in their 50s or 60s is fired and it appears to be age related, the employee assumes its is ONLY about their age. But then we talk to them and learn they also happened to have had a surgery and been out on a medical leave a few months before the termination or just told their employer they need a few extra breaks to eat something because of a diabetes diagnosis (etc.). When we point out the age and disability discrimination combination we commonly see, they have an “aha” moment–it all becomes clearer.
Some things that commonly indicate an employer has engaged in age + disability discrimination:
– You are over 40 and were fired during or shortly after medical leave
– You requested a health-related accommodation and were terminated instead
– Your employer made comments about your health, speed, productivity, ability to learn new technology, stamina, energy, or general ability to “keep up”
– You were replaced by someone significantly younger after you told your employer something about a health condition or possible diagnosis
– Your employer cited “performance issues” that only appeared after you were out with a health issue
– You were told your position was eliminated while you were on medical leave — but the work is still being done by someone younger and or healthier
– Your employer asked you about your “retirement” plans after it learned something about your health
– You were written up for attendance issues related to medical absences
– You know of younger employees who needed the same reasonable accommodations for medical issues and were not treated the way you have been
If You Were Fired While on Medical Leave
Employees are often told their termination had nothing to do with their medical condition or leave. In many situations, however, the timing and circumstances raise serious legal questions under California law.
Our firm focuses specifically on cases where employees are terminated because of a health condition, disability, or need for medical leave. If your job ended after requesting or taking medical leave, it may be worth having the situation reviewed by an attorney familiar with California medical leave protections.