Can my employer fire me while I am on long-term disability leave?

Employment at-will means your employer generally can terminate you at any time, including while you are receiving LTD benefits. ERISA protects your right to the benefits you earned — it does not create an independent right to continued employment. However, there are important exceptions and complications that arise when a termination happens during an active LTD claim.

Section 510 of ERISA (29 U.S.C. §1140) prohibits employers from discharging an employee specifically to interfere with the attainment of ERISA benefits. If the termination is timed to cut off a pending or expected LTD claim, a Section 510 retaliation claim may be viable — though the causation burden is high and the remedies are limited compared to state employment law.

From a benefits standpoint, termination does not erase LTD benefits that were already in pay status at the time of separation. Your policy remains in force for that disability period. However, termination can affect: COBRA continuation of health insurance, your ability to convert from a group ERISA policy to an individual policy (most policies allow 31-day conversion rights), and your SSDI offset calculation if employer-funded SSDI supplements are involved.

If you believe you were terminated to interfere with your LTD claim, contact us promptly — Section 510 claims have short statutes of limitations in most circuits. We handle ERISA LTD matters on contingency. No fee unless we win.