Termination is Not a Reasonable Accommodation
Some Employers Still Treat Employee Health Limitations with Termination Instead of Accommodation
We wish we were exaggerating, but our experience has proven that far too many employers deal with employee health limitations like this:
“You say that your health issues are interfering with your ability to work? Ok, well then you’re fired! There! Now your health won’t be a problem. Feel free to check in with us when you resolve your health issues.”
Under California law, medical leave — including extended medical leave — may be a reasonable accommodation for an employee with a disability, even when the employee is not eligible for FMLA or CFRA, or after those leaves have been exhausted.
Employers often limit reasonable accommodations to workplace adjustments and ignore entirely their obligation to consider and potentially offer leave as a reasonable accommodation.
California Disability Accommodation Regulations (Law) Specifically Identifiy Leave as a Reasonable Accommodation
“Paid or unpaid leaves of absence. When the employee cannot presently perform the essential functions of the job, or otherwise needs time away from the job for treatment and recovery, holding a job open for an employee on a leave of absence or extending a leave provided by the CFRA, the FMLA, other leave laws, or an employer’s leave plan may be a reasonable accommodation provided that the leave is likely to be effective in allowing the employee to return to work at the end of the leave, with or without further reasonable accommodation, and does not create an undue hardship for the employer.” (CCR tit. 2, Section 11068.)
Note How the Regulation Itself Describes that the Need for Leave as a Reasonable Accommodation May Result from the Unavailability of Leave Under Other Laws
Many employers wrongly believe that once FMLA or CFRA leave ends, their obligations end too. Even when employers allow full FMLA/CFRA leave, if they do not offer leave as a reasonable accommodation beyond FMLA/CFRA leave, they may be liable for failing to provide additional leave as a reasonable accommodation.
“[H]olding a job open for an employee on a leave of absence or extending a leave provided by the CFRA, the FMLA, other leave lawas, or an employer’s leave plan may be a reasonable accommodation….”
Automatically firing an employee because they need medical leave beyond another kind of leave or an employer’s leave “polcicies” will often violate California law.
Make a Note of This: You Do Not Need to Qualify for FMLA or CFRA Leave or Have Any Such Leave Remaining to Be Entitled to Leave or a Leave Extension for Health Reasons
This is critical.
Even if:
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You have not worked long enough
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Your employer is too small for FMLA
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Your leave request exceeds statutory limits
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Your leave is unpaid
…medical leave may still be required as a reasonable accommodation under California law.
Employers often get this wrong. So often that it generally amounts to the basis for at least half of our cases.
The Employer’s Duty to Engage in the Interactive Process
When an employee needs medical leave related to a health condition, the employer must engage in a good-faith interactive process –i.e., must communicate with the employee–regarding the need for and possible reasonable accommodation(s).
This means the employer must:
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Communicate with the employee
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Understand the functional limitations caused by the disabling condition
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Explore reasonable accommodations
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Consider leave as a possible reasonable accommodation
Terminating an employee instead of engaging in the interactive process is not uncommon and almost always unlawful.
Interactive Process and Reasonable Accommodation Obligations are Generally Triggered When Employees Are Dealing with Mental Health Conditions Impacting Their Jobs
Mental health conditions such as depression, anxiety, PTSD, and related disorders may qualify as disabilities under California law. The law does not treat them differently than physical health conditions.
Medical leave for treatment, stabilization, or recovery may be a reasonable accommodation.
Employers are more likely to punish an employee for requiring accommodations for mental health conditions than for obvious phyusical conditions even though mental health conditions are often far more debilitating and limiting.
We strongly recommend that you contact us if you or someone you care about has been subjected to a negative action by an employer as a result of needing an accommodation for a mental health condition. Too often, employees blame themselves for mental health conditions and do not enforce their rights. The more employees are willing to make employers face the legal consequences for terminating instead of accommodating when it comes to mental health needs, the less those employers will discriminate based on mental health conditions,
California Law Provides Strong Protections for Pregnancy-Related Accommodations Including Extended Leave
Pregnancy-related conditions are afforded strong protection under California law and leave related to pregnancy is not limited by a specific amount of “PDL” or “FMLA” or “CFRA.” Just as with other conditions, pregnancy-related conditions call for an interactive process and may require extending leave beyond any other leave as a reasonable accommodation, including pregnancy leave for:
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High Risk Pregnancy
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Childbirth
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Postpartum recovery
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Related mental health conditions
Pregnancy-related conditions often implicate multiple overlapping legal protections. If you were fired and you believe it was connected to a pregnancy-related condition, even though your employer likely claimed some other reason, you should tell us what happened. Firing an employee because the employee has, had, or is anticipated to have pregnancy-related medical needs is almost always is unlawful
Tell Us What Happened to You – Call or Submit Our Free Case Review Form
You do not need to know you have a case before reaching out. Many of our clients were unsure at first. They simply knew something felt wrong. We can review what happened to you and help you understand your options.