Can You Be Fired for Medical Reasons?

Believe it or not, it is possible to be fired for medical reasons. However, the employee cannot be terminated because of medical leave or because of the underlying disability.

Employment, in the absence of an employment contract, is known as at will. (Note: in this context, an employment contract includes a collective bargaining or union agreement, too.) That means that an employee may be terminated for any reason that is not illegal, at any time, without notice. Very few reasons for termination are specifically made illegal, the main ones are:

• No termination because of discrimination against a protected group. Some examples are age discrimination (over 40), race, religion, sex, or most significantly for this purpose, disability. Employers are required to make “reasonable accommodations”to allow disabled employs to work, though employers are not required to take unreasonable steps, such as inventing a job for someone who cannot do any positions the company needs.
• No termination for using a legally protected right or filing a legally protected claim, such as by taking medical leave under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) or under similar state laws.

However, barring the above, employees may be terminated at will. And the protection conferred by the above is limited. For example, a woman may not be fired (or otherwise discriminated against at work) because she is a woman. She could be fired if her job performance is bad, for excessive absenteeism, for violating work rules or policies, etc. Similarly, someone who is disabled cannot be fired simply because he or she is disabled, but if there is a general restructuring eliminating that person’s position, the fact that he or she is disabled does not make him or her immune from being laid off.

The reasoning is the same for someone on medical leave. This does not mean that they are fired for medical reasons. While someone cannot be fired because they took protected medical leave, taking leave would not stop them from being fired because of some other issue, including a restructuring or reorganization, for performance-related issues unrelated to the leave (or the medical condition giving rise to it), for not following work rules, for poor performance, etc.

It may be the case that, as a practical matter, the termination will take effect upon the end of the leave and the employee returning to work. That would depend on the exact nature of the leave, the reason for termination, the employer’s own policies on how to handle cases like this, etc. However, even if that’s the case, the decision to fire, and even often the notice of termination, could still be made during the medical leave. The leave cannot be the cause of termination, but it doesn’t necessarily stop an otherwise-valid termination.

One exception to the rule that employees can’t be fired for taking leave: if the employee did not comply with the law and/or company policy about taking leave, such as not providing notice of leave (and instead simply not showing up to work), that behavior itself may provide a good basis for termination.

Case Studies: Termination for Medical Reasons

Case Study 1: Protected Medical Leave

Jennifer, an employee, took protected medical leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) due to her serious health condition. During her leave, her employer terminated her employment.

However, Jennifer cannot be fired for medical reasons alone while on protected medical leave. Her termination violates FMLA regulations, and she may have grounds for legal action against her employer.

Case Study 2: Performance-Related Termination

Mark, an employee who recently returned from medical leave, was terminated by his employer. The termination was not directly linked to his medical condition or the leave itself.

Instead, it was based on his poor job performance and failure to meet company expectations. Mark’s termination was not unlawful, as employees can be fired for reasons unrelated to their medical condition or leave.

Case Study 3: Failure to Comply with Leave Policies

Sarah, an employee, failed to comply with the company’s leave policies when she took time off for a medical condition without providing proper notice. Her absence resulted in disruption to the workplace, affecting productivity and causing significant inconvenience to the employer.

Due to her failure to follow the leave procedures, Sarah’s employer decided to terminate her employment, which is a justifiable reason for termination.