Family and Medical Leave

Prospective clients frequently call our office seeking to pursue legal action because they were terminated while on disability leave. While calling us is certainly the correct first-step in this situation, not all employers violate the law when they terminate an employee who is out on disability leave and the simple fact of receipt of short term disability benefits does not prohibit termination. For example, if an employer is doing a reorganization and your position is legitimately eliminated, you are not protected simply because you are out on disability leave.

Employees often call us about whether their employer is required to give them time off to care for a sick family member or newborn baby. Unfortunately, only certain employers are required to provide such time off.

As a brief follow up to my October 16 blog posting, New York City also passed the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, requiring NYC employers (with at least 4 employees) to grant reasonable accommodations to their pregnant employees. See N.Y.C. Admin.

I’ve never been pregnant, so I don’t know what it’s like. But in writing this blog, I called my cousin who is pregnant with her first child, due in just 2 months, and still working hard.