Fired After Disclosing Your Disability? San Diego Discrimination Lawyers Explain Your Rights

Your manager called you into a meeting three days after you disclosed your chronic pain condition and requested modified desk equipment. Now you’re on a performance improvement plan, or worse, you’ve been terminated. The timing feels deliberate, but your employer insists it’s unrelated to your disability.

Many San Diego workers face this exact situation and wonder whether their termination crossed the line from lawful employment decision to illegal disability discrimination. California law and federal protections exist specifically to prevent employers from punishing workers who have disabilities or need reasonable accommodations.

A San Diego discrimination lawyer can help you evaluate whether the timing, documentation, and circumstances of your termination suggest illegal conduct. Contact Haeggquist & Eck, LLP to discuss your specific case and learn what options you have moving forward.

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Key Takeaways for San Diego Disability Discrimination

• California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) protects employees and job applicants from discrimination based on physical or mental disabilities, including perceived disabilities
• Employers must engage in a good-faith interactive process when an employee requests reasonable accommodation, and firing someone for making that request may constitute retaliation
• At-will employment in California does not give employers the right to terminate workers for discriminatory reasons, including disability-based decisions
• You generally have three years from the discriminatory act to file a complaint with California’s Civil Rights Department, though acting sooner preserves evidence and strengthens your position
• Retaliation for requesting accommodations or taking protected medical leave can form the basis of a separate legal claim, even if the underlying disability discrimination is harder to prove

When Timing Suggests Discrimination Rather Than Performance

Employers rarely admit they fired someone because of a disability. Instead, they often cite performance issues, attendance problems, or business needs. The timing and sequence of events can reveal the real reason. If your termination, demotion, or disciplinary action occurred shortly after you disclosed a disability, requested an accommodation, took medical leave, or returned from medical treatment, that pattern may indicate discriminatory intent.

Documentation becomes critical to proving disability discrimination. Emails requesting accommodations, medical records showing your condition, performance reviews before and after your disclosure, and witness statements all help establish whether the employer’s stated reason holds up. Sudden negative performance reviews that contrast sharply with prior evaluations, or discipline for issues the employer previously tolerated, can support an inference of discrimination.

Employers sometimes claim an employee was terminated for legitimate reasons unrelated to disability. When those reasons appear pretextual, meaning they serve as cover for the real discriminatory motive, the termination may still violate California law. If your employer cannot produce documentation supporting their stated reason, or if similarly situated employees without disabilities were treated more favorably, those facts strengthen a discrimination claim.

Reasonable Accommodation and the Interactive Process

California law requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations to employees with known disabilities, unless doing so would impose an undue hardship on the business.

What Are Reasonable Accommodations?

Reasonable accommodations are modifications or adjustments that allow a qualified employee to perform essential job functions. Accommodations vary depending on the job and the disability, but common examples include:

• Modified or flexible work schedules to accommodate medical appointments
• Ergonomic equipment like adjustable desks, specialized chairs, or assistive technology
• Reassignment to a vacant position that better fits your limitations
• Temporary or extended medical leave for treatment or recovery
• Adjustments to workplace policies, such as allowing service animals or modifying break schedules

Your employer must consider these options in good faith, not simply declare them impossible without investigation.

What Is the Interactive Process?

When an employee requests an accommodation, the employer must engage in an interactive process: a good-faith dialogue to identify effective accommodations. Employers who refuse to engage in this process, or who go through the motions without genuine effort to find workable solutions, may violate FEHA.

Firing an employee for requesting reasonable accommodation is illegal in most cases. If you asked for a modified schedule to attend medical appointments, requested assistive technology, or sought reassignment to a different role, and your employer responded by terminating you, that sequence may constitute both discrimination and retaliation.

Undue hardship exists when an accommodation would require significant difficulty or expense relative to the employer’s size, resources, and operations. Small adjustments, such as allowing occasional remote work, providing a specialized chair, or adjusting break schedules, rarely constitute an undue hardship for many employers. Employers sometimes overstate the burden an accommodation would impose, and California courts scrutinize these claims carefully.

At-Will Employment Does Not Override Disability Protections

California is an at-will employment state, meaning employers can generally terminate employees for any reason or no reason. However, at-will employment has significant exceptions. Employers cannot fire workers for discriminatory reasons, in retaliation for protected activities, or in violation of public policy. Disability discrimination falls squarely within these exceptions.

If your employer claims they fired you “because we can” or “for no particular reason,” but the termination occurred after you disclosed a disability or requested accommodation, the at-will doctrine might not shield the employer from liability. The question becomes whether the employer’s decision was motivated by your disability, regardless of whether they articulated a specific reason at the time.

Some employers use “performance issues” or “not meeting expectations” as generic justifications for terminations that actually stem from disability-based bias. If your work performance was satisfactory before you disclosed your condition, and your employer cannot point to concrete examples of performance deficiencies, the stated reason may be pretextual.

Retaliation for Requesting Accommodations or Reporting Discrimination

Retaliation occurs when an employer punishes an employee for engaging in protected activity. Protected activities include requesting reasonable accommodation, complaining about disability discrimination, participating in an investigation, filing a complaint with the California Civil Rights Department or the EEOC, or opposing discriminatory practices.

Retaliation for asserting your disability rights can take many forms:

• Termination or forced resignation
• Demotion or reassignment to less desirable duties
• Reduced hours, denied overtime, or schedule changes that make your job harder
• Sudden negative performance reviews or unfair disciplinary actions
• Increased scrutiny or micromanagement that other employees don’t experience
• Hostile treatment, exclusion from meetings, or isolation from coworkers

If any of these actions occurred shortly after you requested accommodation or complained about discrimination, the timing may indicate retaliation.

California law prohibits retaliation even if the underlying discrimination claim is difficult to prove. The key factor is whether your protected activity motivated the employer’s adverse action. Timing plays a significant role. Retaliation claims often hinge on temporal proximity between the protected activity and the adverse employment action.

Filing a Complaint with California’s Civil Rights Department or the EEOC

Before filing a lawsuit for disability discrimination in California, you generally must file an administrative complaint. California’s Civil Rights Department (CRD) investigates discrimination complaints and issues right-to-sue notices that allow you to proceed to court. You can also file a charge with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), which enforces the ADA.

Under FEHA, you have three years from the date of the discriminatory act to file a complaint with the CRD. This deadline is significantly longer than the federal EEOC deadline, which requires filing within 300 days in states like California that have their own fair employment agencies.

The CRD complaint process begins with an intake form where you describe what happened, identify witnesses, and provide documentation. The CRD may investigate your complaint, attempt mediation between you and your employer, or issue a right-to-sue notice. Filing sooner rather than later preserves evidence and witness memories.

What You Can Recover in a Disability Discrimination Case

California law allows employees who experience disability discrimination to sue their employer and recover several types of damages. Economic damages include lost wages, lost benefits, and future earnings if the discrimination affects your long-term career prospects.

Non-economic damages compensate for emotional distress, humiliation, and damage to reputation. Disability discrimination often causes significant psychological harm, particularly when an employer’s actions compound the challenges you already face due to your condition.

In some cases, the court may order reinstatement, requiring your employer to return you to your former position. Alternatively, the court may award front pay, which compensates you for future lost earnings if reinstatement is not feasible. Courts can also order employers to provide reasonable accommodations they previously denied and change discriminatory policies.

In limited cases, and if your employer’s conduct was particularly egregious, malicious, or fraudulent, you may be entitled to punitive damages designed to punish the employer and deter similar conduct. Attorney’s fees and costs may also be recoverable, meaning your employer could be required to pay your legal expenses if you prevail.

Steps to Take After a Disability-Related Termination in San Diego

If you believe you were fired because of your disability or for requesting accommodation, start by documenting everything you remember. Write down dates, times, who said what, who witnessed conversations, and how your employer’s treatment of you changed after you disclosed your condition.

Focus your documentation efforts on these key details:

• Dates when you disclosed your disability or requested accommodation
• Names of supervisors, HR representatives, and witnesses to important conversations
• Performance reviews, awards, or positive feedback you received before disclosure
• Emails, texts, or written communications about your accommodation request or termination
• Examples of how your employer treated employees without disabilities in similar situations

The more specific your records, the stronger your position when evaluating whether discrimination occurred.

Request a copy of your personnel file from your employer. California law gives employees the right to inspect and receive copies of their personnel records, and your file may contain performance reviews, disciplinary records, or other documents that support or contradict your employer’s stated reason for termination.

Avoid signing separation agreements or releases without consulting an attorney first. Many employers present terminated employees with severance offers that include releases of legal claims. Once you sign a release, you may forfeit your right to pursue a discrimination claim.

FAQ for San Diego Disability Discrimination

Talk With a San Diego Disability Discrimination Attorney

Losing your job after disclosing a disability or requesting accommodation raises questions that deserve clear answers. Whether your employer violated California law depends on the specific facts, the timing of events, and whether they fulfilled their obligation to engage in a good-faith interactive process.

Our team understands the financial and emotional toll of disability-related termination. We review accommodation requests, analyze employment timelines, and assess whether your employer’s stated reasons hold up under scrutiny. To discuss a workplace disability discrimination concern in San Diego, contact Haeggquist & Eck, LLP.

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