fired while on disability

[rolson]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? OHIO

I am a single mom of 2 young boys, I have been really sick the last two months (spent a week in the hospital), I had MRSA and severe case of sinusitis. The last 2 months I have been off work due to medical reasons. I had been receiving medical short term disability during this time. I was released to go back to work by my doctor on March 2. On March 1 I received a phone call from my employer stating I was fired. He would not give me a reason why he terminated me. My employer is a small business and we had no contract. But I have read that in Ohio there are laws that protects employees from unlawful reasons-such as being disabled. I had been at that job for about 2 years. Please help.

 

[HomeGuru]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? OHIO

I am a single mom of 2 young boys, I have been really sick the last two months (spent a week in the hospital), I had MRSA and severe case of sinusitis. The last 2 months I have been off work due to medical reasons. I had been receiving medical short term disability during this time. I was released to go back to work by my doctor on March 2. On March 1 I received a phone call from my employer stating I was fired. He would not give me a reason why he terminated me. My employer is a small business and we had no contract. But I have read that in Ohio there are laws that protects employees from unlawful reasons-such as being disabled. I had been at that job for about 2 years. Please help.

**A: if you got fired for stricly being disabled you may have a case. My thinking is that you got fired for some other reason or maybe no reason at all.
You probably know why but are not telling us.

 

[cbg]

This is the third time I've answered this question today. (No, I'm not saying you've asked the question three times; I'm saying that three different people have asked it.)

There is a difference between "being disabled" and "being out on disability". The two are not the same. Nothing whatsoever in the law says that you cannot be fired while collecting disability benefits. That is a myth. A commonly believed myth, yes, but a myth just the same.

You cannot be selected for layoff or firing because you have a missing arm or leg; because you have diabetes; because you are epileptic, to name a few obvious examples. However, neither MRSA nor sinusitis is automatically protected under the ADA (only HIV/AIDS is guaranteed protection) and even if it is, unlimited medical leave is not considered a reasonable accomodation. Temporary conditions are not covered. No employer, regardless of size, is required to provide unlimited medical leave. The only question is how medical leave is required.

If your employer has less than 50 employees within 75 miles of your location, the FMLA does not apply and you have no protected medical leave available under Federal law. Ohio has no laws granting additional medical leave beyond FMLA at the state level. (Most states don't. A few, but not many.)

It does not appear that you were fired for being disabled. I doubt that you are considered disabled under the law based on your post. Rather, it appears that you were fired for excessive absences, which is legal.

 

[rolson]

what is the name of your state (only u.s. Law)? Ohio

i am a single mom of 2 young boys, i have been really sick the last two months (spent a week in the hospital), i had mrsa and severe case of sinusitis. The last 2 months i have been off work due to medical reasons. I had been receiving medical short term disability during this time. I was released to go back to work by my doctor on march 2. On march 1 i received a phone call from my employer stating i was fired. He would not give me a reason why he terminated me. My employer is a small business and we had no contract. But i have read that in ohio there are laws that protects employees from unlawful reasons-such as being disabled. I had been at that job for about 2 years. Please help.

he had no reason to fire me. And when i asked why he told me he "legally didnt have to tell me".

 

[rolson]

**a: If you got fired for stricly being disabled you may have a case. My htinking is that you got fired for some other reason or maybe no reason at all.
You probably know why but are not telling us.

there was no reason for him to fire me. Why would i ask this question if there was??? When i asked him he told me "legally he didnt have to tell me".

 

[HomeGuru]

he had no reason to fire me. And when i asked why he told me he "legally didnt have to tell me".

**A: that's correct but he has to legally in writing state the reason to the UE office when they inquire.

 

[cbg]

He is right. He has no legal obligation to tell you.

In 49 out of 50 states, including Ohio, and even on some occasions in the 50th state, you can be fired at any time and for any reason not specifically prohibited by law, including no reason. (Although missing two months of work is not no reason.) In a VERY few states, he has to provide a reason upon the written request of the employee, but Ohio is not one of those states.

You can apply for unemployment. If he chooses to contest it, he will have to give the unemployment office a reason.

 

[cbg]

**A: that's correct but he has to legally in writing state the reason to the UE office when they inquire.

That's not quite true, at least not in any of the states where I have had employees recently. If he does not choose to contest benefits, then he can (in many states - I do not know about Ohio specifically in this regard) simply disregard the paperwork the UI office sends him. If he does not respond with the specified time frame (which could be as short as 4 days or as long as 2 weeks) then the UI office will make their decision based on the information provided by the applicant, which in this case means that benefits would almost certainly be provided.

If he DOES choose to contest, then yes, he will have to provide a written reason to the UI office. But if he is not contesting, then he doesn't HAVE to tell anyone his reason.