What to do if I was fired from a railroad due to my chronic illness?
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What to do if I was fired from a railroad due to my chronic illness?
I have had family medical leave for my condition until recently. I did not qualify for it because of lack of hours for the FMLA protection due to missing work because of my illness. I am a 13 year employee and have only had discipline because of my attendance. I had to take a medical leave and could not maintain the 1250 hours of work prior to receiving FMLA protection.I was terminated shortly after returning to work.
Asked on January 2, 2013 under Employment Labor Law, Arkansas
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 11 years ago | Contributor
You may not have any recourse. If your chronic illness caused you to miss work without approval or authorization (and you were not able to cover the absences with FMLA leave or with paid time off that you had earned, such as sick or vacation time), then your employer may fire you. While employers have to make "reasonable accommodations" for employees with disabilities, even if your condition qualified as a disability, "reasonable accomodations" do not include letting you miss work; employers may terminate employees who do not or cannot show up for the work they were hired to do.
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