Can I Be Terminated When My Medical Leave Expires in California?

The Common Mistake: “Your Leave Is Over, So We Had to Let You Go”

It’s one of the most common — and costly — missteps employers make.
Employees are told, “Your medical leave has expired, and if you don’t return by Monday, we’ll have to terminate you.”

That kind of statement ignores one of California’s strongest employment protections.
When your 12 weeks of CFRA or FMLA job-protected leave ends, the employer’s responsibility doesn’t end — it shifts.

At that point, California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) requires a different kind of analysis focused on reasonable accommodation and the interactive process. Employers must evaluate whether a short extension, modified schedule, or light duty assignment would allow you to return — and they can’t skip that step.

Job Protection Under CFRA/FMLA — And What Comes Next

CFRA and FMLA both guarantee up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave for qualifying medical or family reasons.
During that time:

• Your job (or a comparable one) is protected.
• Your health benefits continue.
• You can’t be penalized for taking the leave.

But when that time runs out, you’re not automatically unprotected.
FEHA steps in to ensure that employees with medical restrictions aren’t terminated prematurely. The law requires employers to:

1. Engage in an interactive process with you;
2. Explore reasonable accommodations; and
3. Only deny further leave if it creates an undue hardship — a high standard that requires actual proof of business difficulty or expense.

Examples of What We Commonly See

• “Come back full duty or you’re fired.”
  A nurse whose doctor limited her to six-hour shifts was told the hospital couldn’t “accommodate part-time recovery.” That’s a failure to accommodate.
• “We can’t extend forever.”
  An employee asked for three more weeks of recovery time, supported by a doctor’s note. The employer ended employment, assuming “leave can’t go on indefinitely.” But a short, medically supported extension is often reasonable under FEHA.
• “No light duty available.”
  Blanket statements like this often violate FEHA. Employers must examine whether nonessential tasks can be temporarily reassigned or postponed.
• “We assumed you weren’t coming back.”
  If HR goes silent or refuses to respond to updated medical information, that’s evidence of a failed interactive process.

Reasonable Accommodation: The Law’s Second Layer of Protection

Once CFRA/FMLA ends, your employer must shift its focus to accommodation — not termination.
That includes considering:

• A short extension of leave;
• Modified or part-time duties;
• Work-from-home or transitional roles; or
• A temporary reassignment that fits medical restrictions.

Only if these options create a real undue hardship can the employer lawfully refuse them. For large companies, proving hardship for short extensions is extremely difficult.

Don’t Fall Victim to the “Indefinite Leave” Excuse

One of the most frequent employer defenses we see is:

“The employee wanted indefinite leave, and we don’t have to accommodate that.”

It’s true that employers are not required to provide unlimited or open-ended time off.
But California courts have made clear that simply because a leave has been extended multiple times doesn’t make it indefinite.

In Hanson v. Lucky Stores, Inc. (1999) 74 Cal.App.4th 215, the court explained that an employer is not required to grant repeated leaves when the employee has a poor prognosis for recovery.
However, in Nadaf-Rahrov v. Neiman Marcus Group, Inc. (2008) 166 Cal.App.4th 952, 988–989,* the court clarified that:

“The mere fact that a medical leave has been repeatedly extended does not necessarily establish that it would continue indefinitely.”

Sometimes, the right answer is to get more information, not assume the worst. The court noted that employers may need to consult directly with the employee’s physician to understand restrictions, prognosis, and likely return dates before making termination decisions.

The takeaway:
Calling something “indefinite” without actually investigating it is one of the most common — and preventable — legal mistakes employers make.

Why This Distinction Matters

This “indefinite leave” misunderstanding has real consequences. We’ve seen:

• Employees fired while recovering steadily with updated doctor’s notes.
• Workers terminated after HR claimed they “couldn’t wait forever” — even though the next appointment was two weeks away.
• Employers refusing to contact doctors for clarification, then claiming uncertainty as justification for termination.

Each of these scenarios turns what could have been a lawful, temporary accommodation into a wrongful termination and disability discrimination claim. For more on disability discrimination, see this Eldessouky Law guide on proving disability discrimination.

Understanding Undue Hardship

“Undue hardship” isn’t a buzzword; it’s a legal standard that requires proof of significant difficulty or expense.
Factors include:

• The employer’s size and financial resources;
• The nature of the business;
• The cost of the accommodation; and
• The impact on operations.

Large employers, hospitals, and national retailers rarely meet this standard for short or clearly time-limited extensions.

What to Know Before Your Leave Ends

• The end of CFRA/FMLA leave does not mean your job protection disappears.
• Your employer must discuss whether extra time or adjustments are reasonable.
• A leave extended several times isn’t automatically “indefinite.”
• Employers should consult your doctor, not assume recovery is hopeless.
• “Undue hardship” is a demanding test — and often misused by employers.

Tip from Eldessouky Law:
The moment HR says, “We can’t extend your leave anymore,” it’s time to get legal advice. That’s often the turning point where employers make avoidable mistakes. You can also learn more about how long you can remain out on medical leave at work.

Talk to a California Medical Leave Attorney

If your employer ended your job after medical leave or claimed your time off was “indefinite,” they may have violated FEHA. To discuss your situation with an attorney, call Eldessouky Law at (213) 788-7887 or contact us through our online form for a free consultation. We’ve represented countless employees who were fired right after medical leave, and we know how to hold employers accountable when they mistake “leave exhausted” for “case closed.”