Law & Society

Fortunately, if employees do sick or hurt while on the job, they have several recourses they may take from disability leave laws. Disability leave refers to time or leave from work which may be any of the following:

• Leave taken by a disabled employee which is a reasonable accommodation
• Leave allowed under the employment contract or policy for short or long term disabilities
• Sick leave
• Time off from work for health reasons
• Leaves made because of an employee with a serious medical condition

There are two federal laws that provide these kinds of disability leaves: the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). However, under certain state laws, Workers' Compensation may also provide for paid disability leaves.
Under the ADA, employers (including state or local governments) with 15 or more employees and to employment agencies, labor organizations and the like are required to make reasonable accommodations for qualified employees with disabilities. Reasonable accommodations for a worker with a disability may include modifications to work schedules or certain medical leaves in view of the worker’s condition. There is no given period for such leaves or reasonable accommodation and should be provided unless it shall constitute undue hardship on the part of the employer.

While the FMLA grants up to 12 weeks of job-protected but unpaid leave, it has more qualifications before an employee can avail of such disability leave.

For employers, they are covered by this law if they have 50 or more employees working within 75 miles of the employee's worksite. This also applies to all public agencies and private and public school employees regardless of the number of employees.

For an employee to be eligible to take such leave, they must:

• Have worked for their employer for at least 22 months
• Have worked at least 1,250 hours over 12 months before taking the leave

Workers’ Compensation in comparison to the disability leaves under the FMLA and the ADA however, is a form of insurance and applies to almost all employees who are injured or disabled on the job, depending also upon system and coverage of the employee’s state.

Under these laws, if employees get sick or injured enough to require a disability leave, whether or not the leave is paid or unpaid, the employee’s job is protected in the duration. Most of these laws require that after availing of such disability leaves, the employee may come back to his old work or given another position which is equivalent to the former. If after your disability leave, you lost your job, you may consult with an employment attorney to find out what the proper remedy would be.