Human Resource Blog

Termination while on STD

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State: North Carolina/AT WILL STATE

Can an employee be discharged due to severe violations of the company Code of Conduct or company policy while out on STD?

Yes, in some cases an employee can be discharged for severe violations of company policy while on short term disability. Suppose while John is on disability, his supervisor finds a gun in John\’s desk. John admits bringing the gun to work, in violation of company policy. It would be entirely reasonable for the employer to terminate John, even though he is on short term disability. Or, suppose John is an accountant on short term disability. While he is gone, an audit reveals that John has been embezzeling money from the company. Again, John can be discharged.

To put it another way, an employee who commits misconduct and then goes on short term disability doesn\’t get a free pass on the misconduct.

In some cases an employer can\’t terminate a worker BECAUSE they are on short term disability, especially if they are covered by FMLA or ADA. If the company has known of the employees misconduct for quite some time, and chooses not to discipline the employee until he or she is on short term disability, that may present the appearance of discrimination based on medical condition, which could be illegal under ADA.

An employee on short term disability can be subject to any disciplinary or employment action that would have taken place, had the employee not been on short term disability. This answer applies to almost all employment at will states, and in a more limited fashion, to many others.