No. Your employer cannot fire you because you disclosed a medical condition or medical disability, asked for an accommodation, or requested medical leave. Both California law and federal law treat those as protected acts. An employer who pushes you out soon after you raise a medical condition or disability may be committing disability discrimination, failure to accommodate, or retaliation, and may owe you significant damages.
California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), Government Code § 12940 and following, is the main law protecting employees. It applies to employers with five or more employees, which is a lower threshold than the federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). FEHA also defines disability more broadly than federal law. A condition qualifies as a disability if it limits a major life activity, including working. It does not have to substantially limit one, which is the stricter federal standard.
Under FEHA, an employer cannot discriminate against you because of a disability or a medical condition. Beyond that, the law places two affirmative duties on the employer once it knows you have a disability. It must provide a reasonable accommodation under Government Code § 12940(m), and it must engage in a good-faith interactive process to figure out what accommodation will work, under Government Code § 12940(n). The federal ADA adds a second layer of protection for many workers, but California’s rules are generally more protective.
What Discrimination Looks Like
We often see a repeating fact pattern when it comes to disability discrimination. Usually, an employee develops a serious medical condition, tells the company about it, and asks for two reasonable things: a move to a less physically demanding role and some time off for treatment or surgery. The transfer request is denied. The employee keeps submitting medical paperwork. Then, a few weeks or months later, the company calls a meeting and ends the employment, pointing to missed time and a supposed lack of motivation.
This kind of timeline recently was alleged in a lawsuit against SpaceX, a large California aerospace company. In that case, a worker said he was let go shortly after disclosing a back condition and asking for accommodations and leave. Phelps v. Space Exploration Technologies Corp., No. 2:26-cv-03632 (C.D. Cal., filed April 6, 2026). The company has not yet responded to the allegations, and no court has ruled. But the fact pattern is important, because it can happen at an employer of any size, in any industry.
What is a Reasonable Accommodation?
A reasonable accommodation is a change to your job or workplace that lets you keep working with your condition. It can take many forms, depending on the job and your doctor’s restrictions.
Common accommodations include:
- A modified or reduced schedule
- A temporary or permanent transfer to a less physically demanding position
- Time off for surgery, treatment, or recovery
- Changes to equipment, duties, or the physical workspace
- Permission to sit, take extra breaks, or limit lifting
When you ask for one of these, your employer is required to talk it through with you. The interactive process is not optional. It is a back-and-forth where the employer and the employee, sometimes with input from a doctor, look for a workable solution. An employer that flatly denies a transfer request without exploring adjustments to your work duties has likely failed in this duty. So has an employer that simply stops responding after collecting your medical forms. If you are dealing with this, a California disability discrimination lawyer can review whether your employer met its obligations.
The employer does not have to grant the exact accommodation you ask for, and it does not have to create a new job for you. But it does have to engage honestly and offer an effective accommodation if one exists without causing undue hardship for your employer. Cost, size of the business, and the nature of the operation all factor into hardship, and the bar for proving it is high.
Medical Leave Is Its Own Protected Right
Time off for a medical procedure is protected in several ways. The California Family Rights Act (CFRA), Government Code § 12945.2, gives eligible employees at companies with five or more workers up to twelve weeks of job-protected leave for a serious health condition. The federal Family and Medical Leave Act covers employers with fifty or more employees and provides a similar twelve weeks. Surgery and the recovery that follows generally qualify as a serious health condition.
Leave can also be a reasonable accommodation under FEHA, sometimes beyond the twelve weeks CFRA provides, as long as a finite period of leave would let you return to work and does not create undue hardship. The point is simple. Asking for time off to treat a medical condition is something the law protects. An employer cannot count that protected time against you and then use it as a reason to fire you.
When a Termination Starts to Look Like Discrimination or Retaliation
Timing of your termination is important. When a termination lands soon after you disclose a condition, ask for an accommodation, or request leave, that sequence can support a claim. FEHA makes it unlawful to retaliate against an employee for requesting an accommodation or otherwise asserting disability rights, under Government Code § 12940.
The reasons an employer gives are often where these cases turn. Vague explanations like “not motivated” or “attitude problems” can be a cover for the real reason, particularly when the worker had years of acceptable performance before the disability came up. So can attendance complaints that are really about medically protected absences. The law looks past the label the employer puts on the firing and examines what actually drove the decision. Because disability discrimination and retaliation frequently travel together, these matters often overlap with retaliation claims under California law.
Be Careful with a Severance Agreement
Employers sometimes offer a severance agreement at the same meeting where they end the employment, or shortly after. In exchange for a payment, the document usually asks you to give up your right to sue. You are not required to sign on the spot, and signing can permanently close off a claim that may be worth far more than the severance offered.
If you have been handed a separation agreement, do not feel pressured to accept it before you understand what you are giving up. You may have the right to revoke or decline it. Speaking with an employment law attorney first can help you assess the offer as well as the value of a potential claim.
Why Acting Quickly Matters
Disability claims under FEHA run through the California Civil Rights Department. Under current law, you generally have three years from the date of the unlawful act to file a complaint with the department, and then one year to file a lawsuit after you receive a right-to-sue notice. Claims under the federal ADA move faster, with a charge usually due to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission within 300 days in California. These deadlines are firm, and
There is also a practical reason not to wait. The sooner you speak with an attorney, the more time we have to gather records, identify witnesses, and document the timeline while memories and paperwork are still fresh. Emails, accommodation forms, and performance reviews can be very important, and they are easier to preserve early.
Free Consultation with a California Disability Discrimination Attorney
If your employer denied a reasonable accommodation, refused you medical leave, or fired you after you disclosed a disability, you may have a legal claim. Yoosefian Law Firm, P.C., represents workers across California in disability discrimination cases, and we have taken on employers of every size.
Call us at (818) 275-1529 or complete our online contact form. Consultations are free and confidential, and we will review your situation and explain your legal options.