For employees living with chronic medical conditions, intermittent flares of symptoms can be a significant challenge in the workplace. Conditions such as lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis and other chronic medical challenges often feature periods of intense symptoms that can temporarily impair a person’s ability to work. This means that some days are manageable, while others simply aren’t.
Fortunately, U.S. employment laws provide protections for workers who experience intermittent flares due to a chronic condition. These legal protections better ensure that those who struggle in this specific way can maintain their employment while managing their health.
Key legal protections
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires most companies to provide reasonable accommodations to both applicants and employees with disabilities. For employees with intermittent flares, reasonable accommodations might include flexible work schedules, the ability to work from home, modified duties during flare-ups or additional breaks throughout the day.
It’s important for employees to communicate with their employer about their condition and to work together to identify accommodations that can help them perform their job duties effectively. Similarly, it’s important to communicate with employers if intermittent leave may be required.
The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) includes provisions for intermittent leave, meaning that employees can take qualifying medical leave in smaller increments, such as a few hours or days at a time, to manage flare-ups of their condition.
Both the ADA and FMLA include provisions that protect chronically ill workers from retaliation for exercising their rights under these laws. Employers cannot legally fire, demote or otherwise punish employees for requesting accommodations or taking leave due to their medical condition.
With that said, requesting accommodations and/or leave is not always a straightforward process. Seeking legal guidance is often helpful for those navigating a chronic illness and who remain able to work most of the time.