California’s Family Rights Act (CFRA) and the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) provides certain employees with up to 12 weeks of unpaid, protected medical leave per year. The employee must be reinstated and cannot lose his or her job for taking this protected leave.

What to do if you can’t work due to illness?

If your doctor agrees you can’t sustain a full-time job, you should be eligible for Social Security disability. If you don’t have a medical condition that qualifies you for immediate approval of disability benefits (called a “listing”), you’ll need to prove that you can’t work.

What medical conditions qualify for medical leave?

In order to provide clarity for FMLA leave, a serious health condition is the term that encompasses inpatient care, incapacity for more than 3 days with continued treatment by a healthcare provider, incapacity related to pregnancy or prenatal care, chronic serious health conditions, permanent or long-term incapacity.

What is a chronic serious health condition?

Serious health condition means an illness, injury, impairment, or physical or mental condition which requires: Continuing treatment (for a chronic or long-term condition) under the care or supervision of a health care provider. Included under this heading are chronic conditions (e.g., asthma, epilepsy, etc.)

Can a person collect unemployment if they have a medical problem?

The team at Growing Family Benefits claims that it is difficult for people to collect unemployment when they cannot work because of medical problems, though. If the person is able and available to work and is not actively seeking a job, they will likely be turned down.

How many weeks of unpaid leave can I take if I have a medical condition?

Both allow qualified employees to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave each year when they, or a qualified family member, have a serious health condition. You may be able to utilize existing leave credits. These statutes require that the employer maintain an employee’s health, dental and vision coverage during such leave.

Can a medical condition cause you to miss work?

Sometimes the severity of claimant’s medical condition (s) fluctuates and can cause the person to miss an unacceptable amount of work. If you can prove that your condition would make you miss too much work, the SSA may approve your claim.

How many days a week can you work on disability?

For more information on how SSA treats pain, see our article on chronic disability and pain. If your medical condition is such that it prevents you from working five days a week, or makes you miss three or more days of work per month, you may be able to win disability benefits on appeal.