In 2002, the California legislature made the decision to broaden the state's disability laws, attempting to make it easier for employees to receive medical leave from employers based on injuries or disabilities. However, as the economy and the job market have worsened and stalled, more employers are finding themselves at the defending end of an employment lawsuit based on the denial of a disability or medical leave claim.

In earlier years, an employee filed for paid medical leave based on a serious physical ailment such as cancer or a back injury. Now, however, more employees are filing for disability for mental disorders such as depression and anxiety. Advocates do not dispel that these claims are debilitating, but say that they have murkied the waters of what constitutes a disability necessitating medical leave.

According to California employment law attorneys, many employees are under the common misconception that a disability or medical leave claim shields them from company downsizing or a merit-based firing. However, employees who file for medical leave to delay an impending layoff may find themselves with a valid claim, as in the 2006 case Roby v. McKesson Corp., in which an employee ultimately was awarded $4 million after his panic attacks rendered him unable to work.

For every case won by an employee, however, there is one that is won by an employer. Therefore, both parties should make an effort to work out a dispute before it goes to court. The interactive process, which was created by California and federal disability laws, requires that employers and employees sit down to discuss reasonable accommodations in light of the disability or medical ailment. Such a discussion can be highly beneficial for both parties to a dispute.

Source: The Recorder, "Medical Leave Cases on Upswing, Employment Lawyers Say", Petra Pasternak, 1 March 2011