Yes, you can be fired while on disability in California, but only for reasons that have nothing to do with your disability or your protected leave. The Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) makes it illegal to terminate someone because of a physical or mental disability, and the California Family Rights Act (CFRA) gives eligible workers up to 12 weeks of job-protected medical leave. An employer that fires you because of your condition, because you asked for an accommodation, or because you took leave faces liability for back pay, emotional distress damages, and sometimes punitive damages.
When a Termination Crosses the Line
FEHA covers any California employer with five or more employees, along with every state and local government employer.1California Legislative Information. California Code, Government Code – GOV 12926 Under FEHA, an employer cannot fire, demote, refuse to hire, or otherwise treat a worker unfavorably because of a disability.2California Civil Rights Department. Discrimination Laws Regarding People With Disabilities California defines disability more broadly than federal law does. A condition that limits a major life activity qualifies, including chronic illnesses, mental health conditions, cancer, and HIV/AIDS.
California is an at-will state, so an employer generally does not need a reason to end employment. That doesn’t help the employer here. At-will status does not authorize a firing for a prohibited reason, and disability is a prohibited reason. Your employer does not need a reason to fire you, but it cannot fire you because of your disability.
FEHA also bans retaliation. Under Government Code section 12940(h), your employer cannot punish you for requesting a reasonable accommodation, taking disability-related leave, or filing a complaint with the California Civil Rights Department.3California Civil Rights Department. Workplace Retaliation Fact Sheet If your termination came shortly after any of those actions, that timing alone can be strong evidence of retaliation.
When a Termination Is Lawful
Being on disability does not make you immune from termination. Employers can lawfully let you go for reasons unrelated to your condition or leave:
- A company-wide layoff or reduction in force that affects multiple positions and applies its criteria consistently.
- Elimination of your role for legitimate economic or restructuring reasons, even during your leave, as long as the decision was not motivated by your disability.
- Documented performance problems that started before the disability, were not caused by it, and were handled the same way for other employees with similar issues.
Timing drives most of the fights. An employer that fires someone the week they return from leave and then cites vague “performance concerns” with no supporting paper trail will struggle to convince a court the decision had nothing to do with the disability. The CRD and courts look closely at whether the stated reason lines up with how the employer has treated other workers.
Protected Leave You May Still Have
CFRA gives eligible employees up to 12 workweeks of unpaid, job-protected leave in a 12-month period for a serious health condition, including a disability.4Employment Development Department. Family and Medical Leave Act and California Family Rights Act FAQs During that leave, your employer must keep your health benefits going on the same terms as if you were still working, and you are entitled to reinstatement to the same or a comparable position when you return.
Not everyone qualifies. To be eligible, you must have worked for the employer for more than 12 months, logged at least 1,250 hours during the previous 12-month period, and worked for an employer with five or more employees.5California Legislative Information. California Code, Government Code – GOV 12945.2 If you don’t meet those thresholds, CFRA leave isn’t available to you, but FEHA’s reasonable accommodation requirements still are, and they have no minimum tenure.
Leave as a Reasonable Accommodation
Additional leave beyond the CFRA 12 weeks can itself be a reasonable accommodation. If your CFRA time has run out but your doctor expects you to recover with more time, your employer cannot simply terminate you because a preset leave policy has expired. It has to consider whether extending the leave is workable. The key question is whether you can provide an approximate return-to-work date. Open-ended, indefinite leave is not required, but the employer must be flexible if a target date needs to shift for medical reasons.
The Interactive Process
Before taking adverse action against an employee whose disability affects job performance, FEHA requires the employer to engage in what California law calls the “interactive process.” This is a back-and-forth discussion aimed at identifying modifications that would let you perform the essential functions of your job.6Legal Information Institute. Cal. Code Regs. Tit. 2, 11069 – Interactive Process Both sides must participate in good faith and share relevant information without delay.
Reasonable accommodations can look like modified schedules, restructured duties, assistive equipment, reassignment to an open position, or a finite period of additional leave. An employer that skips the interactive process and moves straight to termination has likely violated FEHA, even if it later turns out no accommodation would have worked. The employer can refuse a specific accommodation only if it would cause “undue hardship,” a standard that weighs the employer’s size, financial resources, and operational disruption.2California Civil Rights Department. Discrimination Laws Regarding People With Disabilities
What Happens to Your Benefits
State Disability Insurance
California State Disability Insurance (SDI) benefits are not tied to your current job. If you were receiving SDI payments before being fired, those payments continue as long as your physician certifies that you remain disabled.7Employment Development Department. Continue or Stop Your Benefits The EDD stops SDI only when you return to work or recover. A termination triggers neither. You’ll keep receiving certification forms every two weeks, and returning them promptly keeps the money coming.
Long-Term Disability
If your employer offered long-term disability (LTD) coverage, eligibility generally turns on when the disability started, not when you were fired. As long as you were covered under the policy when you first became disabled, you can still file a claim or continue receiving benefits after termination. Policy language varies, so read yours. The insurance company, not your former employer, administers these claims.
Health Insurance
Losing your job triggers the right to continue employer health coverage under federal COBRA. The standard continuation period is 18 months.8U.S. Department of Labor. COBRA Continuation Coverage If you’re determined to be disabled under the Social Security Act within the first 60 days of COBRA coverage, an 11-month extension is available, bringing the total to 29 months.9CalPERS. Important Information About Your COBRA Continuation Coverage California’s Cal-COBRA extends coverage for employees of smaller employers not covered by federal COBRA. You pay the full premium yourself either way, which is a real budget item.
How to Challenge the Firing
If you believe your disability was the real reason for your termination, start with a complaint to the California Civil Rights Department. The CRD enforces FEHA and can investigate, mediate, or take further action.10California Civil Rights Department. Complaint Process You can submit the intake form online or by mail.
Before you file, pull together your termination letter, performance reviews, all communications with HR or management about your disability and accommodations, medical certifications related to your leave, and your employment contract or handbook. These documents anchor the complaint.
You don’t have to wait for the CRD to investigate. California lets you request an immediate right-to-sue notice, which clears the way to file a lawsuit in court directly.11California Civil Rights Department. Obtain a Right to Sue Once the CRD issues that notice, it will not investigate the complaint even if you later change your mind about suing, so this route is best if you already have an attorney.
A federal claim under the Americans with Disabilities Act is also possible if your employer has 15 or more employees, which requires filing a charge with the EEOC first.12U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Filing a Lawsuit Because FEHA covers smaller employers and generally provides broader protection, most California workers pursue the state route.
Deadlines to Track
Missing a deadline can end an otherwise strong case. The ones that matter:
- CRD intake form: three years from the discriminatory act.10California Civil Rights Department. Complaint Process
- Lawsuit after a right-to-sue notice: one year from the date the notice issues.11California Civil Rights Department. Obtain a Right to Sue
- Wrongful termination tort claim in violation of public policy: two years from the termination, under California’s personal injury statute.13California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure 335.1
- EEOC charge (federal ADA claim): 300 days from the discriminatory act in California.12U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Filing a Lawsuit
The three-year CRD window and the two-year wrongful termination window run independently, and wrongful termination in violation of public policy is a separate cause of action from a FEHA claim. If you plan to pursue both theories, both clocks matter. The sooner you file, the better; evidence fades and witnesses forget, and a fresh case is a stronger case.
What You Can Recover
A successful FEHA disability discrimination claim can produce back pay for the wages and benefits you lost between termination and judgment, and front pay for future lost earnings if reinstatement isn’t practical. Emotional distress damages address the psychological harm of an illegal firing and can be substantial. Punitive damages may be available against a private employer that acted with malice or conscious disregard for your rights, though not against government employers. Courts can also order the employer to pay your attorney’s fees, which often makes these cases viable to bring in the first place.