Unlawful Termination After Requesting Time Off to Care for a Seriously Ill Family Member in California

Akopyan Law Firm, A.P.C. Insights Team2026-02-09T01:48:17-08:00

📌 Key Takeaways Close timing can matter. When an employer disciplines, reduces hours, changes schedules, or terminates an employee shortly after a request for job-protected family-care leave, the sequence of events may be relevant in a retaliation or interference analysis. Compare “before” and “after.” A shift from stable performance feedback to sudden criticism, write-ups, or schedule changes after a leave request can be an important pattern to document. Employer reasons should be evaluated against the record. “Restructuring,” “performance issues,” or “minor mistakes” may be legitimate in some situations, but a lawyer will often assess whether those explanations are consistent, documented, and applied evenly. More than one law can apply. Depending on eligibility and the facts, job-protected family and medical leave protections and anti-retaliation rules may overlap. Details and documents help. In an initial consultation, an employment lawyer will typically focus on the timeline, written communications, schedule records, and supervisor statements to assess potential claims. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ When an employee in California loses a job soon after requesting time off to care for a seriously ill family member, that timing may raise questions about whether the employer acted unlawfully. In many cases, the key issues are what was requested, whether the request involved job-protected leave, what changed afterward, and how the employer explains the termination or other adverse actions. When A Request for Family-Care Leave is Followed by Job Loss Consider two examples: Example 1: An employee in a warehouse role requests several days off to help a spouse through serious surgery. After the request, the employee’s schedule changes, disciplinary write-ups begin, and the employer terminates the employee. Example 2: A grocery employee requests time off to care for a seriously ill parent. Soon afterward, a supervisor starts focusing on minor issues that previously drew no attention, and the employee is told the position is no longer available. These examples do not prove wrongdoing by themselves. But when termination (or other significant employment actions) closely follows a request for job-protected family medical leave, the timing and pattern can become relevant facts in evaluating possible retaliation, interference with protected leave, or other unlawful conduct. Employees In Hourly and Schedule-Dependent Jobs May Feel the Impact Most Immediately A sudden termination can be especially disruptive for employees in hourly, schedule-dependent, or frontline roles (for example, warehouse, retail, delivery, restaurant, manufacturing, and similar jobs). Job loss in these circumstances often creates: Immediate loss of income needed for housing, food, transportation, and basic expenses. Added strain when the same paycheck supports a seriously ill family member’s care. Limited ability to absorb missed paychecks, particularly for employees living paycheck to paycheck. It is also common for employees to feel unsure how to describe what happened or to assume the situation is “just unfair.” A clearer approach is to focus on the sequence of events, the employer’s actions, and what was said or documented. Red Flags to Document Before and After... Read more