Hi Michelle,

Thanks for writing to us! I have sent your question to one of our legal experts who will be in touch soon.

In the meantime, as I mentioned yesterday, I would recommend reaching out to the National Cancer Legal Services Network: http://www.nclsn.org/

Best,

Sarah, Cancer and Careers Associate Manager of Programs

I went through the same thing;
I was living in the State of Alabama. I got fired after cancer diagnosed;
I was a property manager of an Apartment Complex!
I had worked there over 3 years and a single mom, 37 yrs old young. I went to my District Manager at the Corporate Office in advance to come up with a plan thinking I would get medical leave of absence. Not! I just knew my job was secure I took it from 65% occupied to 99% occupied, that is only 2 vacants and they were both pre-leased, I took the rent delinquency (past due rent) from only 62% collected to 96% rent collected; my property could run itself! Friends assured me that my employer could not fire me that I could sue them! Huh! One day I get a call to come to my bosses office he tells me I am just not working out no more and fired me!!! I asked for some sort of severance paper aka termination paper which is legally required in Georgia (it states why they fired you) he refused saying in Alabama he didn't have to give me the paper. I knew he was up to no good! I filed unemployment that day after i went to my office and gathered all my paper work/work emails regarding my great performance then for government benefits! I got denied unemployment because he said I had poor performance (thank God I gathered my written proof from my boss what a good job I was doing and all my reports) the State of Alabama reversed their decision and I got a check for at least 6 months but then with unemployment the employer can appeal the States decision which stops the check! And yep you guessed it my boss appealed it to stop my checks so no money again! I at that point called for a conference and they sided with the employer and demanded I pay them the monies from unemployment back that the State awarded me (due to all my written proof the employer was a liar) I can't prove it but I bet you the employer paid the State off to make that decision, why else? I had it in writing that I did my job and had excellent performance! all this happened in 2009, the worst part of the economy, so it took me over 6 months to get an employment check to begin with. Originally the DCF lost my food stamp application; took 2 months to get food help (again I was single mom) oh also an apartment came with my job and they illegally evicted me (didn't even file a dispo with the court) broke in my window unlocked the door and put everything I owned on the curb while I was at the docs and kids in school....Employers do what they want to do unless they are an exception with good people in charge with a heart! Alot depends on the state you live in... Many states are "work at will" and if you are in a "work at will" state they can fire you just because they wish (Alabama and many states are)! I should have tried to sue them at least for the illegal  eviction but I was way to sick by this time!!!!! But God is good; I ended up getting approved for disability and God knows I would need it because I am almost 4 years out and have multiple severe problems from the treatment I received.. I wish you and everyone going through this the best!

Hi Michelle,

My apologies for the delay in responding and I'm sorry to
hear about your situation.  The Family
and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is the federal law that entitles some employees 12
weeks of unpaid, but job and health insurance protected leave, per year, in
order to care for their own serious medical condition, or to act as a caregiver
for a seriously ill child, parent, or spouse. 
To be eligible for FMLA, an employee must work for an employer with 50
or more employees, within a 75 mile radius of the employee’s worksite.  The employee must also work for a total of 12
months for the same employer, and in that 12 months, work at least 1,250 hours.
 Employers are not permitted to fire you
if you are out on FMLA leave, unless they can show that they would have fired
you even if you were not out on leave (e.g., they discovered misconduct).  For more information on the FMLA, visit: http://www.dol.gov/whd/fmla/fmla-faqs.htm.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is the federal law
that protects eligible employees from being discriminated against based on a
disability.  To be eligible for the ADA
you have to be able to perform the essential functions of the job, with or
without reasonable accommodations, work for an employer with 15 or more
employees, and have a disability.  If you
are unable to work at all for an extended period of time, it’s likely that you are
unable to perform the essential functions of the job.  Therefore, you would not be eligible for the
ADA’s protections and companies would not be required to hold your job for
you.  For more information about the ADA,
visit: http://www.dol.gov/dol/topic/disability/ada.htm.

It is permissible in certain instances for your employer to
obtain some of your medical information; generally this is referred to as
medical certification.  Medical
certification is often required when an employee is seeking to take time off
from work under the FMLA or to access reasonable accommodations under the ADA.  An employer may also have access to your
health insurance information if they are a self-funded health insurance
plan.  A self-funded health insurance
plan is one where the employer pays directly for an employees’ health care,
rather than purchasing insurance from a health insurance company.  However, in any of these circumstances any
medical information obtained by your employer must be kept confidential and in
a separate file from you normal employee file. 
For more information about medical certification, visit: http://webapps.dol.gov/elaws/whd/fmla/12a1.aspx.

I hope that helps answer your questions.

Best,

Monica
Bryant, Esq.

Cancer
Rights Attorney

COO, Triage
Cancer

Please note that the
above information is designed to provide general information on the topics presented.
It is provided with the understanding that the expert is not engaged in
rendering any legal or professional services in the information provided above.
The information provided should not be used as a substitute for professional
services.

Hate to see that this is happening to others as well. Was diagnosed with uterine cancer April of 2014, 4 months later, my HR manager called me into her office to sign termination papers and told me, "to return when I was cancer free". Interested in knowing what legal a rights I have in this case.

Amanda

Hi Amanda,

I'm very sorry to hear that. As I mentioned above, I would recommend checking out the National Cancer Legal Services Network (http://www.nclsn.org/) where you can find local, free legal services that should be able to provide you with more specific information. If you haven't already, I would also recommend checking out our page on legal rights in the workplace: http://www.cancerandcareers.org/en/at-work/legal-and-financial/Cancer-and-the-ADA-FMLA

Please let us know if you have further questions.

Best,
Sarah, Manager of Programs, Cancer and Careers

I understand what you are going through. I have stage 3c lung cancer. I have had 28 radiation treatments. I come to work every day. I work in small office in Ga. two employees including me and our boss. THe other employee and boss leave me every day at noon without me having a lunch hour and go to lunch. My work load has tripled . I feel to push me out the door . I hear my boss talking with everyone on the phone looking for people to hire. I am so tired from the radiation. I think it is time to quit.