Can I be fired because of my medical condition, my leave or my request?

Which laws protect me?

• Discrimination because of a disability: the ADA (employers with 15 or more employees; 42 U.S.C. §§ 12111(5), 12112), the State Human Rights Law (every employer; Exec. Law §§ 292(5), 296(1)) and the City Human Rights Law (four or more; Admin. Code §§ 8-102, 8-107(1)).
• Retaliation for asking for an accommodation or complaining: the same three laws (42 U.S.C. § 12203; Exec. Law § 296(7); Admin. Code § 8-107(7)).
• Taking leave: the FMLA (29 U.S.C. § 2615(a)), the sick-leave law (Labor Law § 196-b(7)), and the Workers’ Compensation Law for claiming disability benefits, Paid Family Leave or workers’ compensation (Workers’ Comp. Law § 120).

What counts as firing me because of my condition?

• It does not have to be a firing. A transfer, a change in duties or schedule, or discipline can be discrimination too. Under Title VII, the federal law against sex, race and other discrimination, the Supreme Court held that a worker must show “some harm respecting an identifiable term or condition of employment,” but not that the harm was “significant” (Muldrow v. City of St. Louis, 601 U.S. 346, 354–55, 359 (2024), vacating judgment for the employer on a police sergeant’s transfer claim). For retaliation the federal test is still whether the action “well might have dissuaded a reasonable worker” from complaining (id. at 357). City law asks only whether the employer’s act was “reasonably likely to deter a person from engaging in protected activity” (Admin. Code § 8-107(7)).
• The obvious case: you are fired, demoted or disciplined because of your condition, or because the employer assumes it will make you less reliable.
• Firing you to avoid accommodating you. The ADA separately forbids denying a job to a qualified employee because the employer would have to make a reasonable accommodation (42 U.S.C. § 12112(b)(5)(B)).
• Discipline for conduct your condition causes. Where it was undisputed that an employee’s lateness was caused by his disability and he was disciplined for the lateness, the Second Circuit said: “In other words, McMillan was disciplined because of his disability” (McMillan v. City of New York, 711 F.3d 120, 129 (2d Cir. 2013), vacating summary judgment for the employer). The question then becomes whether he could have done the essential parts of the job with an accommodation, such as a flexible start time.
• A family member’s condition. The ADA also forbids discrimination because of the known disability of someone you have a relationship with (42 U.S.C. § 12112(b)(4)). A father who was told that “his problems at home were not the company’s problems,” demoted after missing a day for his disabled daughter’s hospitalization, and fired weeks later stated a claim (Kelleher v. Fred A. Cook, Inc., 939 F.3d 465, 467–70 (2d Cir. 2019), vacating the dismissal of his complaint).

When can an employer lawfully let me go?

• A reason unrelated to your condition. Layoffs, misconduct, or performance problems that are real and are treated the same way for everyone.
• Standards applied to everyone. Under the State regulation an employer may enforce attendance, conduct and performance standards it applies consistently to all similarly situated employees, though “reasonable and necessary deviations must be allowed as accommodations” (9 NYCRR 466.11(g)(1)).
• You cannot do an essential function even with an accommodation. Courts give “considerable deference” to the employer’s judgment about what is essential, and an accommodation cannot eliminate an essential function. A pharmacist whose fear of needles kept him from giving the immunizations his employer had made part of the job lost a jury verdict on appeal for that reason (Stevens v. Rite Aid Corp., 851 F.3d 224, 229–30 (2d Cir. 2017), reversing the denial of judgment for the employer). Under City law, though, the employer has to prove you could not do the job even with an accommodation (Admin. Code § 8-107(15)(b)).

Can I be fired for asking for an accommodation?

No. Asking is protected under the ADA and City law (42 U.S.C. § 12203; Admin. Code § 8-107(7)). Under State law, protection for requesting an accommodation was written into Exec. Law § 296(7) on December 5, 2025, and applies to actions filed on or after that date (L. 2025, ch. 600). Before then, some courts held that a request alone was not protected activity under the State law.

• Timing can be evidence. Under City law, a firing two days after a written accommodation request went to a jury, even though there was evidence the employer had decided to fire her before the request, because a supervisor tied the decision partly to her “mandate around [her] responsibilities” (Friedman v. Bloomberg, L.P., 230 A.D.3d 1060, 1061 (1st Dep’t 2024), affirming denial of the employer’s summary judgment motion).
• Forced leave can be retaliation. Being pushed onto medical leave after asking for an accommodation “could well dissuade a reasonable worker” from complaining, and a termination a year later did not have to be judged in isolation (Tafolla v. Heilig, 80 F.4th 111, 126–27 (2d Cir. 2023), vacating summary judgment for the employer).

Can I be fired for taking FMLA leave?

No. The FMLA makes it unlawful to “interfere with, restrain, or deny” your FMLA rights, and to fire you for opposing a practice the FMLA forbids (29 U.S.C. § 2615(a)(1), (2)). Courts recognize two kinds of claim:

• Interference. You must show that you were eligible, the employer was covered, you were entitled to the leave, you gave notice, and the employer denied or otherwise interfered with an FMLA benefit you were entitled to (Graziadio v. Culinary Inst. of Am., 817 F.3d 415, 424 (2d Cir. 2016)). The leave does not have to be refused: “interference or restraint alone, which includes discouragement, is enough” (Kemp v. Regeneron Pharms., Inc., 117 F.4th 63, 68–69 (2d Cir. 2024)). The employee in Kemp still lost, because she sued after the two-year deadline and could not show a willful violation that would have allowed three years (at 69–70, affirming summary judgment for the employer). Discouragement has to be tied to the leave: criticism of your work that never mentions your time off is not interference, even if it leads you to take less leave (Haran v. Orange Bus. Servs., Inc., 160 F.4th 51, 57–58 (2d Cir. 2025), affirming summary judgment for the employer).
• Retaliation. You must show that you used FMLA rights, were qualified, suffered an adverse action, and that the circumstances suggest retaliation. The employer then gives its reason, and you can show it is a pretext through “weaknesses, implausibilities, inconsistencies, or contradictions” in it (Graziadio, 817 F.3d at 429–30). In that case the employer said it fired a payroll administrator for abandoning her job while she was on leave caring for her sons; because a jury could find the employer had never told her what paperwork it needed, it could also find that reason was a pretext (at 424–31, vacating summary judgment on her FMLA claims).

Can I be fired for using sick leave or claiming disability benefits?

No. The sick-leave law forbids retaliation for requesting or using sick leave or paid prenatal leave (Labor Law § 196-b(7)), enforced through Labor Law § 215. The Workers’ Compensation Law forbids firing you because you claimed any benefit under that law, including disability benefits and Paid Family Leave, unless “no other valid reason is shown to exist” for the firing, so the employer’s other reasons will be tested (Workers’ Comp. Law § 120).

How are these cases proved?

Almost never with an admission. The usual evidence is timing, what managers said, how others were treated, and whether the employer’s explanation holds together. The standard matters:

• City law, and now State law. Under City law, discrimination must play “no role” in the decision. The Second Department has said the State law, as amended in 2019, “now aligns with the standards of” the City law, so an employer seeking summary judgment must show there is no “evidentiary route” by which a jury could find discrimination played a role (Wright v White Plains Hosp. Med. Ctr., 237 A.D.3d 1143, 1145 (2d Dep’t 2025)). That is a lower bar for the worker, but not no bar: the employee in Wright lost because she offered only speculation (at 1145–46, affirming summary judgment for the employer).
• Federal law. The ADA claims use the burden-shifting framework: you make an initial showing, the employer states a reason, and you must show the reason is a pretext. That framework is not needed where the employer admits it acted because of conduct your condition caused (McMillan, 711 F.3d at 129).

What if I applied for Social Security disability?

An application saying you cannot work can be used against a claim that you could have worked with an accommodation. It does not automatically bar the claim, because Social Security does not consider accommodation, but you must explain the apparent contradiction well enough for a jury to find you could still do the essential parts of the job with one (Cleveland v. Policy Mgmt. Sys. Corp., 526 U.S. 795, 802–07 (1999), vacating judgment for the employer). Talk to a lawyer before you file.

What are the deadlines?

General periods only; when a period starts depends on the facts. An EEOC charge under the ADA or the PWFA is generally due within 300 days in New York. A State Human Rights Law claim can be brought in court within three years (CPLR 214(2)), or with the Division of Human Rights within three years for conduct on or after February 15, 2024 and one year before that (Exec. Law § 297(5)). A City Human Rights Law claim can be brought in court within three years (Admin. Code § 8-502(d)) or with the City Commission within one year (§ 8-109(e)). Filing with the Division or the Commission can bar a later lawsuit on the same claim (Exec. Law § 297(9); Admin. Code § 8-502(a)). See the deadlines on the main page.

• FMLA: two years in court, three if the violation was willful (29 U.S.C. § 2617(c)).
• Sick-leave retaliation: two years in court (Labor Law § 215(2)(a)).
• Workers’ Compensation Law retaliation: two years, with the Workers’ Compensation Board (Workers’ Comp. Law § 120).

What can I recover?

Under the Human Rights Laws, lost pay and damages for emotional harm, with no cap under State and City law, and in many cases attorney’s fees; see what you can recover. Under the FMLA, lost wages and benefits with interest, an equal amount as liquidated damages unless the employer proves good faith, and fees (29 U.S.C. § 2617(a)(1), (3)). Under the sick-leave law, a court may award lost compensation, reinstatement, fees and up to $20,000 in liquidated damages (Labor Law § 215(2)(a)). Under the Workers’ Compensation Law, the Board may order reinstatement and lost pay (Workers’ Comp. Law § 120).

What is unsettled?

• The new State protection for requests. The December 2025 amendment making a request for accommodation protected activity under the State law is new, and we are not aware of a decision construing it yet.
• How far the State law now tracks the City law. Wright is one Second Department decision in a discrimination case. We are not aware of a Court of Appeals decision on how far the 2019 amendment brings the State law into line with the City law.

What should I gather?

• A timeline: when the employer learned of your condition, when you asked for an accommodation or leave, and each warning, schedule change or disciplinary step after that.
• Your written requests and every reply, and any written reason for the firing.
• Performance reviews and praise from before you disclosed or asked.
• The names of coworkers who broke the same rule and were not fired.
• Notes of what managers said, with dates and who was there.