Can I be terminated if I have fmla, and my fmla hours have run out?My fmla is for an anxiety disorder.

Generally, if you RUN OUT of FMLA hours . . . YES, as you LOSE FMLA protection. You could sue based on sound legal grounds. You MAY be able to add "Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress" to your suit. Your lawsuit would be "public knowledge." If you sue your company . . . THEN they will know of "your legal matters." You really need to talk to a Florida employment lawyer with your specific legal concerns. Good luck!

You will draw some sound responses here about discrimination law and FMLA legal rights and legal recourse. But I will suggest that you think about voluntarily removing yourself from a situation that is clearly painful and destructive and damaging for you. What is the point or benefit? What realistic amount of money are you going to potentially recover that will adequately pay you for such a brutal experience? Not every job is right for every person. When you are in the wrong job, maybe the most effective and humane treatment you can provide for yourself is to get the hell out. Speaking of anxiety and the related disorder of depression, can you possibly imagine how emotionally grueling it can be to go through a lawsuit where your mental condition is the issue? I couldn't do it, and I have the hide and the resilience of a rhino. Your lawsuit will not be sealed and your employer will purposefully and skillfully exploit every known weakness in your personality. You will be gossiped about endlessly, and your lawsuit will be handicapped as if it were a TV game-show. And after the worst three years of your life, you may lose. I encourage you to consider all of your options given your circumstances -- life is more than just pursuing our various options to sue.

I am a California attorney and cannot give legal advice in your state. My comments are information only, based on federal law and general legal principles. YOUR STATE MAY HAVE ITS OWN LAWS THAT OFFER SIMILAR OR GREATER PROTECTION. If I mention your state’s laws, it only means I did a quick Internet search and found something that looked relevant. You MUST check with an attorney licensed in your state to learn your rights. While I generally agree with Ms. McCall, I am not as pessimistic as she is about the litigation process. Yes, it is horrible to go through and certainly not at all like what we see on t.v. However, that by itself is not enough to say litigation isn't the right course to pursue. I don't know the facts of your situation so cannot comment on whether litigation makes sense for YOU. My main reason for responding is to make sure you know that you may have rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, 42 U.S.C. sections 12101 et seq. (ADA). If your employer has at least 15 employees and you have a disability as defined by the ADA (a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities), the employer may be required to provide you with reasonable accommodation. Reasonable accommodation may include transferring some non-essential job duties to other employees, providing equipment or devices to enable you to do the main functions of the job, allowing extra time off work for things related to the disability, and more. Also, the employer may not treat you differently from other employees because of your disability. For example, the employer may not refuse to promote you, deny you training or otherwise limit your job opportunities, and the employer may not fire you because of your disability. Please look at my guide on the ADA: http://www.attorneyqna.com/pages/show?category_id=6&permalink=disability-discrimination-in-employment. You can find a plaintiffs employment attorney on the National Employment Lawyers Association (NELA) web site www.nela.org. NELA is the largest and most influential bar association in the country for attorneys representing working people. You can search by location and practice area. Also, NELA has affiliates in every state and many cities which are listed on the NELA site. Not all NELA attorneys are named on the web site or affiliate site. This should not influence your selection; attorneys can choose whether or not to purchase a listing in the national directory, and each affiliate has its own rules for listing. I hope you can resolve your situation and wish you the best.

Generally, when an employee exhausts his or her 12 weeks of job-protected leave, the employee can be terminated. However, if you have a condition which qualifies as a disability, which you may, you request an accommodation from your employer for additional time off. Without additional information, however, it is difficult to determine whether you have a disability (or perhaps, perceived disability). I would also note that you would likely not have a claim for intentional infliction of emotional distress. In the employment context, such claims are difficult to maintain absent some physical contact. Based on your situation, I would suggest that you consult with employment counsel, as he or she may be able to provide you with additional analysis of your potential matter or, at minimum, a summary of your rights under the law.