Working During Cancer Treatment: Your FMLA and ADA Rights

Many people keep working during cancer treatment, return to work afterward or take time off to care for a loved one with cancer. Two federal laws, the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), can protect your job and help you get time off or changes at work. Here is how each one works.

The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the FMLA lets eligible employees take up to 12 workweeks of job-protected leave in a 12-month period for their own serious health condition or to care for a spouse, child or parent with a serious health condition. FMLA leave is unpaid, though some employers and states offer paid leave.

Who qualifies:

• Your employer is a private company with 50 or more employees, or a public agency or school of any size.
• You have worked there for at least 12 months.
• You worked at least 1,250 hours in the 12 months before the leave.
• Your employer has at least 50 employees within 75 miles of your work site.

What it protects:

• You do not have to take the leave all at once. It can be used in days or hours, which can help for chemotherapy or radiation appointments.
• Your employer must keep your group health insurance going on the same terms while you are on leave.
• When you return, you must get the same job or a nearly identical one.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

The ADA bans job discrimination against people with disabilities and requires employers to make reasonable accommodations. It covers private employers with 15 or more employees and state and local governments. Federal workers are covered by a similar law, the Rehabilitation Act.

According to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), people with current cancer or cancer in remission should easily qualify as having a disability under the ADA, as amended in 2008. A past history of cancer is also protected.

Examples of reasonable accommodations the EEOC lists:

• Time off for treatment and recovery
• A modified or flexible schedule, or breaks to rest or take medicine
• Working from home
• Moving less important tasks to co-workers
• A transfer to an open job if you can no longer do your current one

Leave can also be an accommodation, even after FMLA leave runs out or if you do not qualify for FMLA.

How to Ask for Leave or Accommodations

You do not need special words to request an accommodation at work. Simply explaining that you need a change at work because of a medical condition is enough to start the process under the ADA. A family member or health care provider can also make the request on your behalf. Your employer may ask for medical documentation confirming your condition and explaining the accommodations you need, but they cannot require your full medical record. Your employer must also keep your medical information confidential and should not disclose your diagnosis to co-workers. To help keep track of the process, submit your request in writing and keep copies of all emails, forms and related documents.

If you believe you were treated unfairly because of cancer, you generally have 180 days to file a charge with the EEOC, or 300 days if a state or local agency also enforces a similar law. Some state laws offer more protection, such as paid family leave or coverage of smaller employers. CURE has also spoken with experts about employment rights for patients and caregivers after a cancer diagnosis.

References

1. "Fact Sheet #28I: Counting Leave Use Under the Family and Medical Leave Act." U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division. March 2025.
2. "Cancer in the Workplace and the ADA." U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. May 15, 2013.

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