# Ada Lawyer | Disability Work | Disability Discimination > top work disability, cancer, FMLA lawyer for job terminations, harassment, work injuries to sue employer since 1993 Source: https://bakersfieldlaborattorney.com/work-disability/ Firm: Employment Lawyers Group — employee-side employment lawyers since 1993. Serving Kern County, California. Phone: (661) 412-9600 (calling is the fastest way to reach the legal team) Office: 5401 Business Park S, #214, Bakersfield, CA 93309 Contact form: https://bakersfieldlaborattorney.com/contact/ Consultations are free and confidential; cases are taken on contingency. --- The nature of an employee's disability determines their workplace rights. In order for an employment attorney to determine if an employees has a case the employee attorney must know the nature of the employee's medical problem. The diagnosis, the duration of the condition, and the nature of the accommodation are essential questions in determining an employee's workplace rights. It is also important to know the size of the employer, the length the employee has been employed, the essential functions of the employee's job, and how the disability arose. **An Employer's Duty to Accommodate Work Disability Depends on:** **DIAGNOSIS** **THE MEDICAL PROBLEM AT ISSUE** **SIZE OF EMPLOYER** **DURATION OF THE MEDICAL PROBLEM** **LENGTH OF TIME EMPLOYED** **NATURE OF THE JOB** **HOW THE MEDICAL PROBLEM STARTED** In California multiple leave of absence rights, reinstatement rights, and accommodation rights exist depending on the nature of the disability. **California employees may be entitled to leaves of absence and job accommodations for:** 1. **[Serious Medical Conditions Under the Family Medical Leave Act](https://bakersfieldlaborattorney.com/leaves-of-absence/)** 2. **Pregnancy and Adoption** 3. **Leaves of Absence to Treat Cancer** 4. **[Work Injury Leaves](https://bakersfieldlaborattorney.com/work-injury/)** 5. **Leaves of Absence Due to Longstanding Medical Issues** Not every medical diagnosis constitutes a disability. Other than obvious physical disabilities such as blindness, or an inability to work, the following have been held to constitute disabilities for which employers must provide reasonable accommodations and should not fire employees: **Cancer, Diabetes, Heart Problems, Lupus, Mental Illness, Multiple Sclerosis** There are lists of conditions courts have either found do not constitute disabilities, or they are disabilities an employer may not be able to accommodate. The value of disability discrimination lawyers like those at the Employment Lawyers Group is they are aware of these court rulings and can advise disabled employees accordingly. Disability discrimination in employment is a complicated subject matter. We advise against employees trying to figure out if they have a case by reading an internet article. **CALL [(661) 412-9600](tel:6614129600) for a Work Disability Lawyer.** Our disability discrimination lawyers primarily deal with an employee who has lost their job due to their disability, but they can work. In order for employers to be liable for disability harassment supervisors must be the ones engaging in harassment due to disability. Employers are liable for coworker harassment if it is done in front of supervisors or managers, or supervisors or managers are aware of the coworker's tendency to harass before the employee who is suing was harassed. Besides harassment geared at name calling, or making an employee physically exert themselves beyond the capacities of their disability, workers compensation issues may arise if an employee has a disability due to a work injury. Outside of the workers compensation arena lawsuits for disability discrimination require the employee suing is able to work with reasonable accommodations. If an employee is completely unable to work a reasonable accommodation might be a leave of absence until the employee has healed. Only an experienced employee attorney can assist the employee in determining if the length of their leave of absence is something a court would rule must be accommodated. **Accommodations employers do not generally have to make include:** - **Working from home** - **Giving the employee a job that is not open** - **Giving the employee a job they have never done before** - **Bumping somebody from an existing position so the employee can work** - **Long term work at a job below the employee's rate of pay** - **Any accommodation that creates a genuine safety risk** **A disability discrimination lawyer needs to know:** - **What the employee's disability is which usually means the medical diagnosis** - **If the employer was aware of the name of the disability and its limitations.** Unfortunately, too often employees are reluctant to share the true nature of their disability with the employer. If the employer is not aware of a condition that might be a disability, under the law, the employer is not required to accommodate the disability. Every day many disabled California employees report to work. Not all disabilities effect an employee's ability to work. For example, being color blind might not affect the work of a physical education teacher, or janitor. Only if the disability effects an employee's ability to work is it a disability that must be accommodated. Truthfully, many disabled employees experience employers not always tolerant and willing to accommodate their disabilities. From the civil lawyer's perspective who only takes cases on a contingency and is only paid when and if they collect money from the employer, an employee attorney cannot always help. - **The employees must go on a leave of absence due to the disability and they have a return date to work** - **The employee is fired due to disability based upon a stereotype** - **The employer simply does not want somebody with a disability to be their employee** - **Harassment such as name calling, or frequent requests to violate restrictions due to disability** - **A work injury which requires the employee to go on disability** Clear dialogues between the employee and the employer are most helpful. The employer should know the extent, nature, and duration of the disability. The employee should identify any limitations they have, or requests they want honored due to their disability. The employer should think about whether a condition might constitute a disability and what they can do to accommodate it. Employers who refuse to hear medical diagnosis or look at doctor's notes are not acting lawfully. Employees too embarrassed to clearly apprise their employer of their conditions and needs do themselves a disservice insofar as employee rights laws. An employer's obligation to accommodate a disability is different than their obligation to grant California Family Rights Leave Act (CFRA) or Family Medical Leave (FMLA). Our disability lawyers are frequently representing employees in lawsuits in which the employer assumed FMLA was the only relevant leave of absence. Please contact our disability discrimination attorneys if you were fired while on a disability leave. - **$539,000** won at a binding arbitration for a work injury that caused a disability - **$365,000** for wrongful termination during a pregnancy disability - **$225,000** for pregnancy harassment - **$182,500** for a job not held open during cancer treatment - **$150,000** for a job termination due to a mental disability - **$150,000** for a job termination during a surgery caused by disability ## Our Firm: No Upfront Fees or Costs ### Contingency Fee Representation All employment cases for employees are taken on a **contingency basis**. We are only paid a fee **when and if we win** your case, and we **advance all litigation costs**. Our goal is to make expert legal representation accessible to every hardworking employee. ### Serving Kern County We have proudly served all of Kern County since 1993. Ready to discuss your case? (661) 412-9600 Submit A Contact Form The Employment Lawyers Group has successfully handled 2,000+ Separate California Employment Cases ## Media Engagements ## Sample Case Results breach of commission contract $1,150,000 Unpaid commissions of two plaintiffs unpaid wages $875,000 For 4 oil field service industry workers whose times worked were not recorded on timesheets and were on-call forced to work without pay standby pay case $800,000 Controlled stand by class action settlement Disclaimer: These results are based on the facts of these specific cases and do not guarantee or predict a similar result in any future case. ## Practice Areas [Discrimination Age, Disability, FMLA/CFRA, Gender, National Origin, Pregnancy, Race, and Sexual Orientation discrimination claims.](https://bakersfieldlaborattorney.com/discrimination/) [Unpaid Wages & Overtime Recovering earnings for overtime, bonuses, commissions, meal & rest break violations, and prevailing wage claims.](https://bakersfieldlaborattorney.com/unpaid-wages/) [Sexual Harassment Compassionate and effective representation for sexual harassment and hostile work environment claims.](https://bakersfieldlaborattorney.com/sexual-harassment/) [Wrongful Termination Representing employees terminated in violation of public policy, contracts, or California and federal law.](https://bakersfieldlaborattorney.com/wrongful-termination/) [Leaves & Retaliation Protecting employees who face adverse actions after reporting illegal activity or taking protected medical leave.](https://bakersfieldlaborattorney.com/leaves-of-absence/) [Whistleblowers Advocating for employees who report fraud, waste, or abuse under California and federal whistleblower protection laws.](https://bakersfieldlaborattorney.com/whistle-blower/) ## Our California Locations ### Bakersfield [BakersfieldLaborAttorney.com](https://bakersfieldlaborattorney.com) 5401 Business Park S, #214, Bakersfield CA 93309 [(661) 412-9600](tel:6614129600) ### Los Angeles [EmployeeLawCA.com](https://employeelawca.com/) 611 Wilshire Blvd, #1023, Los Angeles CA 90017 [(323) 525-1600](tel:3235251600) ### Orange County [WorkLawyerOC.com](https://worklawyeroc.com) 2522 Chambers Rd, #100, Tustin CA 92780 [(714) 210-8000](tel:7142108000) ### Riverside [RiversideEmploymentLawyer.com](https://riversideemploymentlawyer.com) 9496 Magnolia Ave, #208, Riverside CA 92503 [(951) 367-1000](tel:9513671000) ### Sacramento [SacramentoLaborAttorney.com](https://sacramentolaborattorney.com) 777 Campus Commons Rd, #200, Sacramento CA 95825 [(916) 340-0000](tel:9163400000) ### San Bernardino [EmploymentAttorneySanBernardino.com](https://employmentattorneysanbernardino.com) 337 N. Vineyard Ave, #400, Ontario CA 91764 [(909) 663-2100](tel:9096632100) ### San Diego [SanDiegoEmployeeLawyer.com](https://sandiegoemployeelawyer.com) 330 "A" St, #60, San Diego CA 92101 [(619) 320-3000](tel:6193203000) ### San Francisco / Bay Area [BayAreaEmploymentAttorney.net](https://bayareaemploymentattorney.net) 524 Union St, #400, San Francisco CA 94133 [(877) 525-0700](tel:8775250700) ### San Jose / Silicon Valley [SiValleyLaborLawyer.com](https://sivalleylaborlawyer.com) 111 N. Market St, #300, San Jose CA 95113 [(877) 525-0700](tel:8775250700) ### Sherman Oaks [WorkLawyerCA.com](https://worklawyerca.com) 13418 Ventura Blvd, Sherman Oaks CA 91423 [(818) 783-7300](tel:8187837300) ### Torrance / South Bay [JobTerminationLaw.com](https://jobterminationlaw.com/) 3655 Torrance Blvd, 3rd Floor, Torrance CA 90503 [(310) 842-8600](tel:3108428600) ### Ventura / Oxnard [VenturaEmploymentLawyer.com](https://venturaemploymentlawyer.com) 4030 West Hemlock St, Oxnard CA 93035 [(805) 200-0100](tel:8052000100) ### Additional Sites [BostonLaborLaw.com](https://bostonlaborlaw.com) [DcLaborAttorney.com](https://dclaborattorney.com) [FresnoEmployeeLawyer.com](https://fresnoemployeelawyer.com) [JobLawyer.net](https://joblawyer.net) [MarylandLaborAttorney.com](https://marylandlaborattorney.com/) [ModemStud.com](https://modemstud.com) [VintageLosAngeles.org](https://vintagelosangeles.org) [WorkplaceLawyer.org](https://workplacelawyer.org) ## About Firm Founder, Karl Gerber Firm Founder, **Karl Gerber**, has been an employment and wrongful termination attorney since **1993**. He has represented a wide range of employees throughout California. Mr. Gerber has won **51 of the binding arbitrations and jury trials** he first chaired, and a number of his appeals are published. This deep trial experience is the foundation of the firm's strategic approach to litigation. The employment attorneys employed by the Employment Lawyers Group have worked at the firm well in excess of five years, have also tried many different labor cases, and have all been **extensively trained on employment and wrongful termination law by Karl Gerber**. [Meet Karl Gerber](https://bakersfieldlaborattorney.com/karl-gerber/) ## Ready to Discuss Your Case? Your rights as an employee matter. Submit a contact form and we'll get back to you. Submit A Contact Form [Call (661) 412-9600 Now](tel:6614129600)