Termination of Employment Due to Illness

Being Let Go While on Long-term Disability

Employees in Ontario or B.C. who are ill may choose to take a disability leave or access their long-term disability benefits their group disability insurance plan offered by their employer.

If your employer decides to terminate your employment while you away from work on long-term disability (despite the fact that you are on LTD for legitimate reasons that have been supported by your doctor) and the termination had any connection to your medical situation, it would be considered an illegal termination and a human rights violation.

Employers are required to accommodate medical conditions by providing employees with a workplace that removes barriers and allows them to perform their duties. Employees are also protected by human rights legislation that prevents a company from disciplining or dismissing their workers due to medical conditions.

If your employer has let you go or is threatening to let you go while you are away from work on a long-term disability claim, contact us immediately to determine your options. If you are a non-unionized employee, it is extremely likely that you are owed full severance pay, as well as compensation for human rights damages. Our compassionate and respected employment lawyers at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP in Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary and Ottawa can enforce your rights, and get you what you are owed.

Dismissed From Work After Long-term Disability Claim Denied

Your employer may try to fire you or terminate your employment if one of the following two problems occur with your long-term disability claim:

• The insurance company denies your attempt to access your long-term disability policy, meaning you will not be compensated by the insurance company while on a disability leave; or
• The insurance company decides to cut off your long-term disability claim, believing that you are well enough to return to work.

Your employer does not have an automatic right to terminate your employment simply because the insurance company feels that you do not meet the threshold to claim your long-term disability payments. Quite often, insurance companies will deny or cut off legitimate long-term disability claims for the wrong reasons. Employers may inappropriately assume that the insurance company’s decision means that the employee is not legitimately ill or disabled, and therefore they have a good reason to end the employment relationship. Employers may also decide that they do not want to take on the responsibility of accommodating an employee’s medical condition when they return to their job, and instead opt to let the employee go with little or no severance pay.

If your long-term disability claim is denied, and your employer decides to add further insult to injury by subsequently letting you go from your job, you need to connect with the employment lawyers and disability lawyers at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP right away. Contact our team and get the help you deserve.

WATCH: Disability Lawyer Sivan Tumarkin and Employment Lawyer Lior Samfiru discussed terminations following a long-term disability claim denial on an episode of the Employment Law Show.