How are Workers Protected During Cancer Treatment?
- Many people choose to work through cancer treatment as it can provide a sense of normalcy and a welcome distraction.
- However, others are not able to continue working and may need to take either paid or unpaid time off from work.
- There are protections that require employers to provide “reasonable accommodations” to people with cancer and that provide job security should a patient need to take significant time off (even if that time off is unpaid).
- When you are diagnosed, consider speaking to a social worker and/or your job’s HR department for guidance on what your options are when it comes to work.
"We always encourage people to continue to work if they are able to," says Sarah Stapleton, a clinical social worker at Montefiore Medical Center. "I think it creates a sense of normalcy for patients." If you're able to work, you'll be busy and you won't be worrying all the time about how your treatment is going, she says.
Read MoreCan I Be Fired for Having Cancer?
You can’t be fired for having cancer, Stapleton says. However, if treatment interferes with your ability to do your job, or come into work at all, you may run into some issues. Under both federal and state laws, employers are expected to make reasonable accommodations to assist employees with cancer. This many include things like extra paid time-off, shorter work hours during treatment, or offering remote work when possible.However, employees are not expected to provide accommodations that cause “undue hardships” or “significant difficulty or expense,” according to the U.S. Equal Opportunity Commission.
What if I Need to Take Time Off?
In many cases, people who need to take significant time off from work for cancer treatment (or to care for someone in their family with cancer), are protected by the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA).
The FMLA allows eligible employees to take up to 12 work weeks of unpaid time off with job protection, meaning you’d have the same job (or a similar job with similar pay) when you return. The FMLA also requires employers to offer the same health insurance coverage during leave.
Depending on where you live in the U.S., state laws might provide even more benefits to people who need to take time off from work for cancer treatment.
“Sometimes patients can work through their treatment for the beginning until their side effects become too overwhelming or other things come up,” Stapleton explains. “And at that point, [patients] generally exhaust all their vacation and sick days and the next option is family medical leave.
“It depends on the employer on how many months or days you would get. You do not get paid during that time, but it makes sure you have job security.”
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