How Long Can You Keep Your Job While on Disability in California?

Life becomes hard enough when a disabling medical condition prevents you from working. The last thing you need is the loss of your job while on disability.

The California Disability Insurance and Family Leave laws provide wage replacement when you cannot work, but they do not protect you from being terminated from your job. Job protection for California residents can be found in the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and through state law under the California Family Rights Act (CFRA).

Protecting yourself from losing your job requires an understanding of the laws and how they work, including their limitations. Sackett and Associates has been the go-to source for legal advice on disability benefits and the rights of people with disabilities throughout California and nationwide for over 45 years. Contact them if you have questions after reading the following information about job protection while on disability.

State And Federal Disability Benefits Programs

California workers have access to state and federal employee disability benefits programs. The California State Disability Insurance program provides wage replacement. The program requirements include:

1. A person must have lost wages from being out of work for at least eight days.
2. The inability to work must be the result of illness, injury, or surgery that is not work-related or by pregnancy or childbirth.
3. The person must be working or looking for work at the beginning of the disability.
4. Workers must earn at least $300 with deduction for State Disability Insurance.

Workers meeting the requirements for the California State Disability Insurance program may receive benefits for only 52 weeks. CSDI pays benefits for short-term disabilities only.

 If you have a medical condition expected to keep you from working for more than one year, the Social Security Administration has two disability programs: Social Security Disability Insurance and Supplemental Security Income. Coverage through the SSDI program depends on a person’s work history, based on the work credits earned by a worker.

One work credit is earned for every $1,810 in wages in 2025, up to a maximum of four credits per year. The earnings needed for a work credit change each year.

A worker generally needs 40 work credits. Twenty of them must be earned within the 10 years preceding the onset date of disability. Younger workers may not require as many work credits for SSDI coverage.

SSI disability benefits do not require a previous work history, but applicants cannot exceed limits on income and resources. It is a needs-based program intended to help people pay for food and shelter.

Federal And State Medical Leave Laws

The federal FMLA provides unpaid disability leave rights with job protection for 12 weeks per calendar year. Workers who receive group health benefits are protected from losing them during the 12 weeks of protected leave.

The FMLA protection does not apply to all employees. Its disability leave rights only apply to the following employers:

1. Public agencies
2. Public and private elementary and secondary schools
3. Companies having 50 or more employees

The 12 weeks of leave each year apply to employees under the following circumstances:

1. Childbirth and care of a newborn.
2. Adoption or foster care placement of a child.
3. Employees caring for an immediate family member with a serious health condition.
4. Employee cannot work because of a serious health condition.

You must have worked for an employer for at least 12 months, at least 1,250 hours, and at a location with at least 50 employees.

The FMLA California job protection prevents employers from terminating a worker during the 12-week protected period. Workers have the right to return to their old job or an equivalent one.

CFRA, the California law providing job protection, mirrors most provisions of the federal FMLA. The CFRA differs from the FMLA in its application to employers with five or more employees, in contrast to the 50 or more employees required by the federal law.

Workers returning to their jobs after taking leave must be reinstated without loss of seniority or benefits. This applies under the FMLA and the CFRA.

If possible, notify your employer at least 30 days prior to taking leave under the FMLA and the CFRA laws. One difference between the state and federal laws is that the CFRA lets you take leave intermittently instead of in one continuous time period.

The FMLA requires approval from your employer for intermittent leave. The exception is when intermittent leave is medically necessary.

Consult A California Disability Lawyer

The FMLA and CFRA provide job protection for workers on disability in California, but it’s essential that you understand how each of them works. For example, your job may not be protected from company-wide layoffs while you are out on disability leave.

The disability team at Sackett and Associates can help you understand and protect your rights. Contact them for a free consultation to learn more about disability benefits and your rights.