The Issue: unpaid leave as a reasonable accommodation under the ADA.
Cliff Kaplan, 65, worked for a beverage distributor at Beechwood Sales & Service for 16 years. Then came a diagnosis of stage-four esophageal cancer. He took unpaid medical leave under the FMLA while he underwent chemotherapy.
Twelve weeks later his manager called. His FMLA had just expired, and the company needed him back immediately. When Cliff said he wasn't physically able to return, they fired him. No severance, no discussion, no attempt to work it out. Just a letter ending a 16-year career.
According to the According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's reporting on this firing: "Although unfortunate, Kaplan's firing was likely legal…. No laws prevent an employer from terminating an employee once their FMLA expires, regardless of the severity of their disability."
That is very incorrect. Here's where the ADA comes in, because this story isn't just about the FMLA.
Too many employers treat FMLA like a hard stop. Twelve weeks are up, the protection's gone, and that's the end of the story. But it's not the end, at least, not if the employee's medical condition qualifies as an ADA-disability (and stage-four cancer certainly does).
Once FMLA ends, the ADA takes over, and the ADA requires employers to engage in an interactive process to figure out if there's a reasonable accommodation that might help the employee get back to work. That process should always include considering whether a short, finite period of additional unpaid leave might do the trick.
The ADA never requires employers to offer an indefinite leave. But when someone's fighting cancer and says, "I just need a few more weeks or a couple of months before I can physically come back," the law expects the employer to at least have that conversation, and document it.
Skipping that step and just pulling the trigger as soon as the FMLA runs out is not just harsh, it's also potentially unlawful under the ADA.
The FMLA is the floor, not the ceiling. While the FMLA acts as a 12-week stopwatch, it's not the only law that applies. Compliance doesn't end at 12 weeks, it just evolves into a dialogue about what's possible and what's reasonable.
Too many employers treat FMLA like a hard stop. Twelve weeks are up, the protection's gone, and that's the end of the story. But it's not the end, at least, not if the employee's medical condition qualifies as an ADA-disability (and stage-four cancer certainly does).
Once FMLA ends, the ADA takes over, and the ADA requires employers to engage in an interactive process to figure out if there's a reasonable accommodation that might help the employee get back to work. That process should always include considering whether a short, finite period of additional unpaid leave might do the trick.
The ADA never requires employers to offer an indefinite leave. But when someone's fighting cancer and says, "I just need a few more weeks or a couple of months before I can physically come back," the law expects the employer to at least have that conversation, and document it.
Skipping that step and just pulling the trigger as soon as the FMLA runs out is not just harsh, it's also potentially unlawful under the ADA.
The FMLA is the floor, not the ceiling. While the FMLA acts as a 12-week stopwatch, it's not the only law that applies. Compliance doesn't end at 12 weeks, it just evolves into a dialogue about what's possible and what's reasonable.