If you have a physical or mental disability and if your employer employs over 15 employees (or over 5 employees in California), your employer is required to provide you an accommodation that will enable you to get back to work.

ust because you’re not at 100% doesn’t mean you can’t get your job done.

That’s why laws were enacted to protect persons with disabilities. Some employers hold the mistaken belief that if an employee is not at 100%, they can’t perform the job. This is clearly false and comes from a severe lack of understanding an employees needs and how they work.

The California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) prohibits employment discrimination and harassment on the basis of a disability and medical condition, requires employers to provide reasonable accommodate to its employees with a disability, and requires employers to take reasonable steps to prevent discrimination and harassment.

Your employer cannot discriminate against you because of your association with someone with a disability.

Avoiding misconceptions about disabilities and medical conditions in the workplace.

We all understand the body is complex. We like to think we have it figured out, but truthfully, we don’t and we’re still learning. Symptoms from a medical condition that presents in one person may not present the same in another. Yet, when someone learns about your condition, they can’t help but think about that aunt or friend who has the same thing and presumes your body and your mind handles it the same way.

When you think of disability discrimination, you may think you always need to prove that your employer has it in for you because you have a disability. You may think you need to prove that the reason they failed to accommodate you was because they hold feelings of ill will or hostility against you (or anyone else with your same medical or mental condition).

But, in many disability discrimination cases you don’t need that “smoking gun” statement or even circumstantial proof your employer is really thinking: “let’s terminate Amy because I don’t want to see her limp around here with a cane,” or “I’ve been sick of hearing Adam talk about his back pain ever since his injury, let’s get rid of him.”

Can my employer ask me disability-related questions or require medical or psychological exams during my employment?

When returning from a CFRA or FMLA medical leave…

You must be returned to the same or comparable position that is equivalent (i.e. virtually identical) to your former position in terms of pay, benefits, shift, schedule, geographic location, and working conditions, including privileges, prerequisites, and status. The position must involve the same or substantially similar duties and responsibilities, which must entail substantially equivalent skill, effort, responsibility, and authority.

For those wanting to return to work: the fact that you’re not at 100% does not mean you can’t perform your job.

Have you ever heard a colleague refer to a woman’s maternity leave as a vacation? Well, it’s time to set them straight.

Before and after bringing a new bundle into this world, women can and do take pregnancy DISABILITY leave. In California, you can take up to 4 months of pregnancy disability leave if you work for an employer with 5 or more employees.

Learn about your family and medical leave rights and accommodation rights at work in California by watching the video in this blog post.

Subject to a few exceptions, in California, employers must provide all employees with 24 hours (or 3 days) of paid sick leave (PSL) benefits that may be used in a 12-month period, for their own or a family member’s medical condition or victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking who need to get services (such as counseling).

The California Family Rights Act (CFRA) generally mirrors its federal counterpart, the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). However, there are some key differences when it comes to seeking pregnancy-related leave.