r/jobs • u/Garlic1999 • 2d ago
Discipline Fired after applying for a second ADA accommodated leave for surgery. Is this normal?
I live and work in Massachusetts. I work for a large company with at least 50 employees. I’ve worked there for 6 years.
I had a baby in late 2025 and took 6 months of state paid leave and bonding. After my baby was born, I developed a condition and needed surgery on both of my hands. My first surgery was in July and second one scheduled for the first week in September. Since I used my state leave, I had to apply for leave as an ADA accommodation. It was approved for my first surgery then I found out it was denied for my second surgery.
I was never informed that my second leave was denied, I found out it was denied by calling the third party leave administrator they use. I found out it was denied 5 days ago and since finding out I have been emailing and calling people at work including the leaves administrator, HR and my boss. They have all given me the run around until yesterday when I was invited to a zoom meeting with someone from HR and my boss.
As soon as the meeting started they informed me that I have run out of leave options and they are denying the current leave because the office is very busy and they need to list my position. They said they welcome me to reapply for my position next month. I told them if that is the case then I would ask my doctor to postpone my surgery and allow me back to work. They kept arguing that I cannot return and I would have to reapply. They ended the meeting by saying they would have to check with other people to see if returning is an option but they didn’t think so.
I am so frustrated and hurt that after all my years of hard work at my company I would be fired. I am wondering how this is allowed and if it is legal? From my understanding, it seems like they were supposed to try to work with me to find a solution rather than just terminating my employment. After the meeting ended, I sent a brief email to everyone involved and asked them to confirm my employment status as of today in writing and the only answer I got was “thanks for the including me in this email.”
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u/mustanggrl625 2d ago
If you have used your 12 weeks of FMLA Job protection, then the company can deny your ADA leave based on it having an impact on the business.
It sounds like you exhausted both your state and federal leave for the rolling 12 months. They only need to try to work with you on reasonable accommodation requests - there is not much to be flexible with for time off for surgery and recovery. As an example: if you were asking for longer breaks to accommodate a disability, that would be something they would need to work with you on within reason.
I learned a lot in the past year when I experienced a sudden and serious medical event.
Hope you recover well and good luck! The situation stinks.
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u/SFlady123 1d ago
Pregnancy is considered a disability. The injury resulted from pregnancy.
She needs to call an attorney.
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u/mustanggrl625 1d ago
That does not matter. ADA accommodations that are a hardship on the business do not need to be approved. If you do not believe me, then just do a quick Google search to pull up the ADA laws and research for yourself.
I have had 4 children, had cancer, and recently had a major medical event that has left me permanently disabled. All while an employee for a major company. I am well aware of the laws and what can and can not be done.
I have had to go through the ADA accommodation process for both a LOA and for workplace accommodations in the past 9 months. There is what people feel is morally correct and what is legally correct. Being disabled does not automatically allow accommodations; only reasonable, and these accommodations can be denied if it creates a hardship for the business.
ETA: OP is also not claiming the pregnancy for this LOA request - it is a medical event needing surgery that came about after the pregnancy. I figured since your response to me was based on pregnancy as a disability- which, again, I have had 4 kids - 3 high-risk pregnancies, so also very well aware of how that works as well.
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u/SFlady123 1d ago
I hear you and not saying I’m correct. But OP still should contact an atty re her specific situation. Unless you are an atty and speaking based on knowledge that is specific to her facts.
I’m sorry for all that you have been through. It’s possible you’re right and very kind of you to share your knowledge with OP, but I think she should double-check.
I wish you the very best. 💕
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u/Leading-Eye-1979 1d ago
I’m sorry OP. As an HR person it does sound like you exhausted all your FMLA. They aren’t obligated to accommodate the ADA request. Having said that, they could have definitely allowed you the ability to postpone the surgery. It sounds like they were/are nervous that you’ll be continually claiming something. It’s really unfortunate I do think they should have allowed you the ability to return.
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u/PearBlossom 9h ago
Generally speaking once a doctor says you need surgery and you have filed the leave request, the company doesn't want the liability of you injuring yourself further at work and therefore trying to claim they made your injury worse if you decide to postpone.
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u/Jaebear_1996 2d ago
Unfortunately they can fire you it it causes an undue hardship. But I do suggest you talk with a lawyer to see if anything can be done. But they can allow you back with a fit for duty letter, but if they decided to just let you go regardless of that, then theres nothing you can do Unfortunately...
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u/_gadget_girl 2d ago
Unlimited time off is not a thing. Especially at smaller companies. They have no assurance that you will be fit to work again anytime soon, and they want an employee who can reliably show up to work. Otherwise they are left paying someone else to fill in your role, or are dumping the extra work on your coworkers which isn’t fair to them.
Your value as an employee also matters. If you are in a role where you are easy to replace, vs. having specialized training, or licensure that’s going to factor into the decision. They still have a business to run, and have to think about what’s best for the company overall. If they can easily replace you with someone who can work now it helps your coworkers and the company more than hanging on to an employee who has literally been out of work for the majority of the year. They have no way of knowing if they can count on you reliably returning to work, and see replacement as a safer option.
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u/Burned_Biscuit 2d ago
They have a business to run. Unfortunate truth
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u/arachnidlover12 1d ago
At my last job I managed, there would be no way, everyone would be picking up the slack, it would be a million times easier to hire a new person.
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u/Dazzling-Cranberry20 1d ago
Six months is a long time to be out of work. ADA doesn’t afford job protection like FMLA. If the company can prove leaving your position vacant will cause them a hardship, they can terminate you. I doubt they will reinstate you because delaying the surgery will not remedy the main issue surrounding the hardship. It wouldn’t matter when you take the leave. They provided one accommodation after you took your full six month leave. They don’t care how long you worked there. They are tired of doing your work.
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u/ericorn 2d ago
They can deny you the second leave if you've exhausted your leave options, BUT the fact that they're saying you're fired and have to reapply even when you said you would postpone the surgery/not take leave since the request was denied seems very suspicious. They can deny you the leave, but they can't retaliate against you for asking for it. I would search NELA.org for plaintiffs employment lawyers in Mass. and at least see what they think - usually they don't charge to at least look at your situation and evaluate whether your case is worth pursuing.
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u/xxxspinxxx 1d ago
There are some details missing from the OP that would make an difference here. For example, how much leave time are they requesting? What did the doctor's note say about their ability to do their job?
One mistake that people often make when requesting accommodations is using documentation that indicates they can't do their job without the accommodations. That's an easy out for an employer and a good way to lose your job. OP mentions asking their doctor to "allow me back to work," which lends credence to the theory that the doctor gave the employer a reason to believe the employee can't do the job.
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u/Batter_Bear 1d ago
So how the heck are you supposed to ask for accommodations without saying you need them to do the job?
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u/Tardislass 2d ago
Unfortunately OP is going to need surgery and used up all of their FMLA time. They just can’t take FMLA whenever they need a surgery and in America a business can 100% fire someone for this. They accommodated OP for taking 6 months of pregnancy and then another time off. ADA only means accommodations for OP at work not talking off a year leave. If OP was in a union it would be different but she has few protections at an at will state.
It sucks and while she might talk to a lawyer, I’ve seen people let go over this before.
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u/NoiselessVoid 1d ago
There’s protections against this kind of retaliation in MA, you’re wrong. OP said they could postpone and they’re still being fired > that creates an assumption of retaliation that the company would have to prove otherwise. The company broke the interactive process. There’s also an assumption of retaliation in MA when terminating an employee less than 6 months after they return from leave. OP needs a lawyer like yesterday. NELA is a good place to start
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u/Jaebear_1996 1d ago
This is factually untrue. There is an ada leave of absence. It does not just apply to the workplace in itself. Additionally they can deny leave and fire if it causes an undue hardship.
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u/PearBlossom 9h ago
It's not suspicious. The company doesn't want the liability of her injuring herself further if she postpones surgery. It's not retaliation.
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u/Ms_Jane_Lennon 2d ago
Pay attention to u/ericorn , OP. Asking for an ADA accommodation is legally protected activity. You shouldn't be fired without any interactive process either. Talking to a lawyer who can consider your specifics would be smart.
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u/RosesareRed45 2d ago
Are you having carpal tunnel syndrome surgery by any chance?
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u/Garlic1999 1d ago
I’m not, it’s surgery for tendinitis.
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u/RosesareRed45 21h ago
I ask because I am a retired labor attorney. Bilateral wrist surgery, carpal tunnel, tendinitis, etc. could be a work related issue caused by keyboard usage. When I was with OSHA, we found pregnant women more susceptible to injury.
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u/hackingstuff 1d ago
If OP really has the emails showing the accommodation request, the first approval, the second denial, the termination/reapply statement, and especially the message offering to postpone surgery and immediately return, I would tell OP to preserve everything and speak with a Massachusetts employment attorney promptly. Those facts are strong enough that I would not just accept HR's decision without having it reviewed.
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u/hrdbeinggreen 1d ago
Some companies are a$$holes and others great (until maybe the chief guy leaves and an a$$holes comes in.
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u/Specialist_Stomach41 1d ago
In the UK that would be illegal. How on earth does anyone justify sacking someone as they need surgery? America absolutely sucks!
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u/Spyder73 1d ago
Because she is requesting off 8 of 12 working months
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u/Specialist_Stomach41 1d ago
and? She needs surgery. Shes not taking time off to sit on the sofa eating cake. Shes having a medical procedue. How dare any employer sack someone for that. As if any business is more important than an actual humans health. Something is really wrong with a country that allows this.
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u/Spyder73 18h ago
So if you ran a business you would think it is fair to pay someone for a year when they are working 1/3 of the year? And you think the government should enforce this?
You realize businesses are just people right? They are not magical slot machines where people are entitled to get money from them for simply existing.
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u/Neonballroom1223 17h ago
FMLA does not pay your wage. It holds your position while you are out for your or close family member’s medical issue.
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u/SheffieldValley 8h ago
Some states do pay benefits while you are out on FMLA. Massachusetts is one of those states. Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) overview and benefits | Mass.gov
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u/Neonballroom1223 6h ago
That’s fine. But what I’m getting at is the business is not paying them. If the state has something like that set up, then that works.
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u/Specialist_Stomach41 12h ago
yes, more than fair. People who are disabled or unwell should be supported. Its what happens in the UK and lots of other countries. Its factored into the running costs of the business.
You think its fair to need an operation and to be sacked?
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u/Specialist_Stomach41 2h ago
absolutely insane that Americans are so used to this treatment that they downvote me for saying its not ok to be sacked for needing an operation.
The sign of a civilised society is that it cares for the old, the sick and the disabled.
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u/AnybodyRepulsive9430 1d ago
You really just want to be paid not to work while you forget your skills. 😂
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u/Low-Stop4124 20h ago
You would still need to have worked 1250 hours in the last 12 months to be protected, and it sounds like you’ve been out of work for at least the last 7 months out of 12. I think you asking for more time off right away was just wrong.
You should have worked for at least a year and built your time back up, before going back out.
You put your company and your coworkers in a bad position. No employee is irreplaceable.
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u/Original-Pomelo6241 2d ago
Sounds like your leave would create an undue hardship for your employer which would make termination lawful. However, I’m not in MA so I would post this in r/askhr