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Having cancer or taking care of someone with cancer can change your daily life. You may be trying to balance cancer care, family needs, and your work schedule or job duties. Knowing your rights can help you determine the best plan for you and your family.

In the United States, there are 2 laws that can help protect you:

• The Family and Medical Leave Act can help if you need to take time off work.
• The Americans with Disabilities Act protects against discrimination for certain health conditions.

What if I need to take time off work?

The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) of 1993 helps employees balance work and family needs. It allows certain employees to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave per year for certain family and medical reasons.

Who can take FMLA?

You are eligible for FMLA if you:

• Work at a location with 50 or more employees within 75 miles
• Have worked for your employer for at least 12 months
• Have worked at least 1,250 hours over the past 12 months (about 25 hours per week)

When can I use FMLA?

Eligible employees can use FMLA for:  

• Childbirth and care of a newborn child
• Placement with the employee of a child for adoption or foster care
• Caring for an immediate family member (spouse, child, or parent) with a serious health condition
• Your own serious health condition

Some states have family and medical leave laws with broader rights (including wage replacement) than FMLA. The can help you get information about your state.

Taking FMLA leave

You can take FMLA leave all at once or in shorter blocks. You can also reduce your daily hours or work a part-time schedule for a while. Remember, workers’ compensation and maternity leave may count as FMLA. You’ll need a doctor’s note confirming a serious health condition and the need for leave.

Returning to work after FMLA

If you have completed your FMLA leave and want to return to work but have concerns about being able to do your job, you can see if you are covered under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

What if I need accommodations to keep working?

The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) is a law that helps protect the civil rights of people with disabilities. It helps ensure people with disabilities have equal opportunities in:

• Work
• Access to public places
• Transportation
• State and local government services  
• Voice, data, and video communication

People with cancer can have long-term disabilities that make it hard to work or get around. The ADA helps make it possible for people who can do the essential parts of their job to go back to work or keep working during and after cancer treatment.

The ADA protects you if you currently have cancer or have had it in the past, even if you are doing well now.

What is reasonable accommodation?

Reasonable accommodations are ways employers make adjustments to a job to allow an employee with a disability to perform required job functions. This can be arranged before a person is hired or after they are in a job.

Examples of reasonable accommodations may include:

• Providing equipment or devices, or adapting them so the person with a disability can use them
• Changing how a job is done
• Changing work schedules
• Giving the employee a different job they can do
• Revising tests, training materials, or policies
• Providing electronic readers and/or interpreters
• Making the workplace easy to get into and use

An employer must accommodate a qualified applicant or employee with a disability unless the employer can show that making the accommodation would be very hard or expensive.

Does my employer have to provide any accommodation I request?

No. There are some options built into the reasonable accommodation requirement under the ADA. For example, employers do not have to:

• Provide the specific accommodation requested if there is an option that works better for the employer.
• Provide accommodations that would be hard or too expensive to put in place.
• Provide personal-use items that are needed for daily activities both on and off the job, such as glasses or hearing aids.
• Make an accommodation for a person who doesn’t have the skills needed for the job.
• Remove required job functions, create new jobs, or lower standards to accommodate an employee with a disability.

What if I’m looking for work?

The ADA also provides protections from discrimination for people looking for work.

What are employers allowed to ask when hiring?

When you apply for a job, an employer can ask you about your ability to perform certain job tasks. They can ask you to describe or show them how, with or without reasonable accommodation, you will do the job.

Employers are not allowed to ask:

• If you are disabled
• Your type of disability or how severe it is
• If you have or have ever had cancer or other past illnesses
• What medicines you take

If you are required to have a medical exam as part of a job application, an employer cannot reject you because of information a medical exam reveals unless the reasons for rejection are related to the job and necessary to conduct the employer’s business. The results of all medical exams must be kept confidential. Medical files must be kept separate from work or personnel files.

What does it mean to be qualified for a job under the ADA?

If you have a disability, you must be able to perform the required functions of a job to be protected. You must be able to perform them on your own or with reasonable accommodation. If you aren’t able to perform these duties, an employer can refuse to hire you.

You must also meet the job requirements, such as education, experience, skills, or licenses. Employers don’t have to lower their job standards for someone with a disability.

Should I tell a potential employer I have a disability?

You aren’t required to tell an employer that you have or had cancer or another disability when you apply for a job. But employers only have to provide reasonable accommodation if they know about a disability. And you are the person who must tell the employer that an accommodation is needed.

What if I’m experiencing discrimination?

People who have or have had cancer can also face job discrimination. Even when a person with cancer doesn’t have a disability, they may be thought of as being disabled. This can increase the chance of discrimination at work. The ADA can help people who face discrimination from current or potential employers.

An employer may not discriminate against you:

• Because you used to be sick
• If they think you are sick, when you aren’t sick

This includes people who had cancer in the past.

If you think you have been discriminated against at work because of a disability, you can file a complaint with an field office located in certain cities throughout the United States. If you work for a state or local government, the process is the same as for a private employer. You can contact the EEOC at 1-800-669-4000.

How do I know if the ADA applies to me?

The ADA may apply to you if:

• You have a physical or mental problem that greatly limits one or more of your usual activities.
• There is a record of you having had such a problem in the past.
• Other people think you have such a problem, even if you don’t.

What counts as a disability?

Although the ADA defines the term “disability,” it does not include a list of conditions that are always considered disabilities. Each case is reviewed to see if the person meets the criteria.

The ADA helps people with disabilities be able to do everyday activities. Some of the usual activities covered by the ADA include:

• Caring for yourself
• Doing physical tasks
• Seeing
• Hearing
• Eating
• Sleeping
• Walking
• Standing
• Lifting
• Bending
• Speaking
• Breathing
• Learning
• Reading
• Concentrating
• Thinking
• Communicating
• Working

Does the ADA consider cancer a disability?

Cancer is often considered a disability because of the changes caused by cancer and cancer treatment. These changes may affect cell growth, gastrointestinal (GI) issues , bowel and bladder function, the brain, as well as the immune, nervous, respiratory, circulatory, endocrine, and reproductive systems. This can affect physical and mental wellness and limit your usual activities.

Does the ADA apply to my employer?

The law applies to employers with 15 or more employees. It applies to many different types of employers, including:

• Private employers
• State and local governments
• Employment agencies
• Labor organizations
• Labor management committees

US federal government employees are not covered under the ADA. But they are protected by a different law. You can learn more on the .

Which employment practices does the ADA cover?

If you have a disability and are qualified for a job, the ADA does not allow most employers to discriminate in:

• Recruiting and advertising for job openings
• Job application and hiring
• Training
• Job assignments
• Tenure
• Promotions
• Pay
• Benefits
• Leave
• Firing
• Layoff
• All other employment-related activities, terms, conditions, and privileges

An employer can’t take action against you because you ask for your rights under the ADA. You are also protected if you are discriminated against because of a family, business, social, or other type of relationship with a person who has a disability. For instance, this means an employer can’t discriminate against you because your spouse or child has cancer.

Still, your job is not completely protected. You can still be laid off or fired for valid business reasons. For instance, you would not be protected during downsizing.

What else does the ADA do?

The ADA can help people who might have trouble getting into buildings and other places meant to be used by the public. It can also help people with hearing and speech problems use phone and electronic communications.

Need more information?

The following organizations may also offer helpful information. The American Cancer Society is not affiliated with or responsible for these resources:

United States Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division
Toll-free number: 1-866-487-9243 (1-866-4-USWAGE)
TTY: 1-877-889-5627
Website:

This site includes subsections with pages that explain more about FMLA, including how it impacts state law, employer policy variations, links to airline crew rules, specific changes for military families, and more.

Cancer and Careers
Telephone: 646-929-8032
Website:

A resource for working people with cancer and their employers; offers articles, news, charts, checklists, tips, and a community of experts, patients, and survivors.