Were You Furloughed or Did You Take Leave in 2020? That May Affect Your FMLA Eligibility in 2021

Two out of three individuals diagnosed with cancer report a change in their employment as they work through treatment and beyond. Add in the COVID-19 pandemic, and many in the cancer community have employment-related questions. When you need medical leave from work to care for a family member or for your own medical condition, what are your options? The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is a federal law that provides up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave from work and protects your job and employer-based health insurance. 

Triage Cancer can help you understand and navigate the FMLA with our Extended Quick Guide to the FMLA.

The FMLA covers employees with a serious medical condition, and employees with a spouse, parent, or child with a serious medical condition. It applies to private employers with 50 or more employees and all government employees. To qualify, employees must have worked at least 12 total months for that employer during the past 7 years, and have worked at least 1,250 hours during the past 12 months. 

If you changed jobs in the past year, or were furloughed or took leave, that might affect your FMLA eligibility. 

  • You must have actually worked 1,250 hours for your employer in the last 12 months. 
  • If you change jobs, you start over adding up to 12 months and 1,250 hours. 
  • Only hours that you were actually working count. If you took leave in the past year, paid leave and unpaid leave—even FMLA leave—do not count toward the 1,250-hour requirement. Sick time and vacation time do not count either. 
  • Your employer chooses how to calculate the 12-month period, so look at your employee manual to see when your year begins and ends, or ask the person at your job who handles employee benefits.  

A number of states and cities have their own leave laws in place, and many offer greater protections than the FMLA. These laws may apply to smaller employers, or provide an expanded definition of family or how you can use leave. 

If you need time off from work for your serious medical condition and you do not qualify for FMLA leave, you may qualify for a reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The ADA applies to private employers with 15 or more employees and all state and local government employees. Federal employees have access to similar protections, but under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. 

Triage Cancer’s Quick Guide to Reasonable Accommodations at Work can help you understand reasonable accommodations under the ADA.

Time off can be a reasonable accommodation under the ADA. If you qualify, your employer has to accommodate. There are a number of ways that an adjustment to your schedule can be a reasonable accommodation:

  • Part-time work
  • Flexible schedule
  • Additional breaks
  • Extended leave (to be reasonable, extended time off has to be for a definite period of time)

Like the FMLA, a number of states have their own state fair employment laws. These can be more protective, as some cover employers with fewer than 15 employees, some have a broader definition of disability, and others specifically list cancer as a disability. 

Whether you are considering FMLA leave, or a reasonable accommodation under the ADA, think about disclosure and privacy issues at work

Triage Cancer has a number of tools to help you work through issues of taking time off work. For more information, visit:

 

 

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