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Can You be Fired Due to Cancer

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  • 12-18-2016, 02:53 PM
    mrsjudychin
    Can You be Fired Due to Cancer
    My question involves labor and employment law for the state of: Florida

    In 2006 I started to work for a spinal orthopedic surgeon. After a year of working for him, the owner of the building and the doctors decided to do construction and to continue to work in the building even though they were provided the option to temporarily relocate. During that time I was pregnant with my son. We went through many medical problems due to the construction, most of which being infections. As a result, I believe, my baby was born early and very much sick.

    After the construction was done, five out of eight started getting diagnosed with various cancers, and in 2013 I was the last one to be diagnosed, with colon cancer. After I went through an extensive total colectomy in which the doctor found an eighth cm stage 2 malignant tumor and over 100 polyps throughout, I needed chemo , my employer fired me because I was sick with cancer and he said he had a business to run even though he provided a fellow coworker plenty of time to recover after getting breast cancer twice, and forcing me to take on her work as well as mine. He said that I was disposable and had to take care of my, and I quote, "f----- up" son.

    To be a mother and have someone treat you and your son with such cruelty and bias is uncalled for. He didn't give me a chance to recover in any way, not giving me any notice or sick leave of any kind. This happened when I was in dire need of work because my problems continued to escalate as masses were found repeatedly throughout my body. What can I do
  • 12-18-2016, 03:01 PM
    Mr. Knowitall
    Re: Fired Due to Cancer
    The issue appears to be over absenteeism, driven by medical need, and the employer's being unwilling to accept any more absences from the employee even if medically necessary. Is that correct? If not, please clarify.

    If the employment is for part of an enterprise with fifty or more employees, FMLA protections may apply -- up to twelve weeks per year of unpaid leave to address medical issues. If this is a small office, Florida has no medical leave laws that apply to private employers.
  • 12-18-2016, 03:14 PM
    comment/ator
    Re: Fired Due to Cancer
    How long ago did this occur? Did you say 2013???
  • 12-18-2016, 03:36 PM
    Taxing Matters
    Re: Can You be Fired Due to Cancer
    How many employees did the practice for which you worked have? And when were you fired?
  • 12-18-2016, 04:02 PM
    cbg
    Re: Can You be Fired Due to Cancer
    The ADA does not grant unlimited leave time. I don't see this as being necessarily an ADA issue, though FMLA is very much on point. While there might be ADA aspects to it, I think FMLA is a much stronger claim.

    These are the points for which we need an answer, some of which have already been asked (but here they are all in one place).

    1.) How long ago did this occur?
    2.) How many employees did this employer have within 75 miles of your location?
    3.) In the 12 months immediately preceding your firing, had you worked a minimum of 1,250 hours for this employer?
    4.)In the 12 months immediately preceding your firing, how much medical leave had you taken no matter what the reason for it? This is leave both for yourself and to care for your son.
  • 12-18-2016, 07:11 PM
    Mark47n
    Re: Can You be Fired Due to Cancer
    This all occurred in 2013? Seems to be along time ago if yes...
    Why did you not deal with back then?
  • 12-19-2016, 05:41 AM
    cbg
    Re: Can You be Fired Due to Cancer
    And, as Raster points out (yes, I'll give him credit when he does something right - it's only fair since I come down on him when he screws up) it seems as if there may have been only 8 employees, which means that neither FMLA nor the ADA would apply even if it happened yesterday.

    So we really, really need more details before we can advise.
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