Fired Due to Temporary Disability

Did you suffer an injury or illness? Because of that injury or illness did you go on temporary disability? Did your employer then fire you while you were on temporary disability or when you returned from temporary disability? The experienced attorneys at Kokozian Law Firm, APC know this happens all too often. Contact Us if this has happened to you. Your employer’s decision to fire you may be unlawful under one or more California laws designed to protect people just like you.

People are commonly fired while on temporary disability or because they went on temporary disability in the following situations.  

California’s State Disability Insurance program covers most fulltime and parttime California workers. It is a short-term partial wage-replacement insurance plan funded by state-mandated deductions from your paycheck. Benefits amounting to 60 to 70 percent of your weekly income are available if you are unable to work because of a non-work-related injury or illness, or due to pregnancy. A medical provider must complete documentation certifying that you are in fact disabled. You are disabled if an injury or illness (or pregnancy or pregnancy-related medical condition) renders you unable to perform your usual work. While the State Disability Insurance program does not protect you from losing your job while you are out on disability, your job may be protected through other laws. (Note: Normally, State Disability Insurance benefits are not available for work-related injuries or illnesses unless the claim has been denied and you are not receiving workers’ compensation temporary disability benefits for time lost from work.)

Under the California Family Rights Act (California Government Code sections 12945.1, 12945.2, and 19702.3), you may be entitled to up to 12 workweeks of job-protected leave in any 12-month period if, among other things, you are unable to work because of an injury, illness, or pregnancy. Other laws, such as the California Pregnancy Disability Leave Law (“PDLL”) and the California Fair Employment and Housing Act ( FEHA ) (California Government Code sections 12900 – 12996), also may provide you a job-protected leave of absence from work.

FEHA prohibits California employers with five or more employees from firing or otherwise discriminating against you due to a Physical Disability , Mental Disability ; Medical Condition (e.g. cancer), or Pregnancy , childbirth, or a pregnancy-related medical condition. Despite these protections, workers are often fired due to being on temporary disability.

Most likely, you were healthy when you were first hired. You performed your job without taking much time off from work. At some point, you suffer a serious illness or injury. You give your employer a doctor’s note indicating you cannot return to work due to your illness or injury until some specified date in the future. You go on a job-protected leave under one of the California laws referenced here and collect State Disability Insurance benefits. Maybe initially you were only supposed to be on leave for three weeks. At some point, your doctor extends your leave a couple additional weeks. Your doctor later extends your leave of absence for another week. Your employer becomes fed up with you. Assigning someone to cover your job duties is a hassle and inefficient. Your employer figures when you return from leave you will be slower and less dependable than before. Your employer will not tell you that you are being fired due to temporary disability. Doing so would be admitting that you are being fired for an unlawful reason. Instead, your employer comes up with an excuse for firing you, which, if believed, would be a legal reason for firing you, such as poor performance, even though in reality you were fired due to temporary disability. That is the time you should Contact the experienced attorneys at Kokozian Law Firm, APC.

If you suffer an injury or illness at work, you should report it to your supervisor or human resources as soon as possible. If the injury or illness developed over time (such as through repeated exposures to loud noises and use of vibrating machinery), you should report it as soon as you learn or come to believe that it was caused by your job. Your employer is then obligated to give you a Workers’ Compensation Claim Form (DWC 1). You are to complete the employee’s portion, sign and date and then return the form to your employer.

You are entitled to certain workers’ compensation benefits in the event of a work injury. For instance, you are entitled to medical care paid by your employer, if medical care is needed for you to recover from the work-related injury or illness. If you miss work because of your work-related injury or illness, you are entitled to temporary disability benefits. Workers’ compensation temporary disability benefits pay you two-thirds of your usual gross or pre-tax income while you are off work recovering from your work-related injury or illness. Your employer is responsible to furnish you these benefits. You are entitled to workers’ compensation temporary disability benefits if your doctor indicates that you cannot perform your usual work for more than three days because of your work-related injury or illness. You are also entitled to workers’ compensation temporary disability benefits if you are hospitalized overnight because of your work-related injury or illness. Workers’ compensation temporary disability benefits end when you return to work, when your doctor releases you to return to work, or when you have recovered from your work-related injury or illness as much as you are going to.

California Labor Code section 132A prohibits employers from discriminating against, terminating, otherwise retaliating against any employee for reporting a work injury and receiving workers’ compensation benefits, including temporary disability. Nonetheless, as with non-work related temporary disability, employers often fire workers due to work-related temporary disability.

If you have been fired due to temporary disability, or if your employer or former employer has otherwise violated your rights under California or federal law, call the experienced employment attorneys at Kokozian Law Firm, APC. You may also Contact Us via our online form.