You were fired three weeks after requesting a standing desk. Or two months after disclosing your diabetes diagnosis. Or shortly after returning from medical leave. Your employer cited performance issues you'd never heard about before, or said the position was being eliminated even though someone else is now doing your job.

The timing feels wrong. The explanation doesn't add up. You're wondering whether what happened crossed a line from a lawful employment decision into illegal discrimination.

Here's how to recognize the difference, and what you can do about it.

The ADA's Protection Against Disability-Based Termination

The Americans with Disabilities Act prohibits employers with 15 or more employees from firing someone because of their disability. That protection extends well beyond an employer explicitly saying "we're firing you because you have a disability." It covers terminations motivated by disability, even when the employer offers a different reason on paper.

Your Employment Rights Under the ADA provides a complete overview, but for wrongful termination specifically, the law prohibits:

• Firing someone because they have a disability
• Firing someone because they requested a reasonable accommodation
• Terminating someone in retaliation for asserting their ADA rights
• Discharging someone based on assumptions about their ability to work

The challenge is that most employers won't announce the real reason. They'll cite performance, attendance, position elimination, or restructuring. Your job is to look at the pattern, not just the stated reason.

Warning Signs of Discriminatory Termination

Certain patterns suggest a termination wasn't really about performance. These warning signs don't guarantee discrimination, but they mean your situation warrants a closer look.

Proximity to disclosure or accommodation request. If you were fired within weeks or months of disclosing a disability or requesting an accommodation, that timing matters. Courts recognize that suspicious proximity can indicate discrimination, especially when it appears alongside other patterns.

An employee requests ergonomic equipment in March. In April, she receives her first-ever negative performance review. By June, she's terminated for performance issues that were never documented before the accommodation request.

Sudden documentation of performance problems. You've worked at the company for years with satisfactory or strong reviews. Shortly after your employer learns of your disability, write-ups, performance improvement plans, and negative feedback start appearing that never existed before. That paper trail, assembled after the fact, is one of the most common ways employers attempt to justify a discriminatory termination.

Refusal to accommodate followed by termination. Your employer denied your accommodation request, and then you were fired. Failure to accommodate can itself be discrimination, but when the denial is followed by termination, it suggests the employer viewed your disability as a problem they wanted to eliminate rather than an obligation they needed to meet.

Inconsistent application of policies. Other employees committed the same infractions you're being fired for, but they weren't terminated. You're being held to a standard that doesn't apply to your non-disabled coworkers. That inconsistency is evidence.

Position elimination that isn't real. Your employer says your position is being eliminated, but the job duties continue under a different title, or they hire someone to do substantially the same work within months of your termination. The position wasn't eliminated. You were.

What Employers Cannot Do

Even when an employer has some legitimate business reason for an employment decision, certain actions still violate the ADA:

They can't fire you for requesting an accommodation. Requesting an accommodation is a protected activity. Terminating someone for making the request, even if the accommodation itself could have been lawfully denied, is retaliation.

They can't refuse to engage in the interactive process and then fire you for performance caused by the lack of accommodation. Employers are required to engage in a good-faith dialogue about possible adjustments. Refusing that process and then terminating you for performance issues an accommodation would have addressed is discriminatory.

They can't terminate you based on assumptions about what you can or can't do. An employer who fires you because they assume you can't handle the job due to your disability, without evidence or without allowing you to try with appropriate support, violates the ADA.

They can't use disability-related conduct as grounds for termination when a reasonable accommodation would have prevented it. Firing someone with narcolepsy for falling asleep at work, when a modified schedule would have addressed the issue, is a case where the termination is really about the failure to accommodate.

What Employers Can Do

The ADA doesn't provide absolute job security. Employers can lawfully terminate employees with disabilities for legitimate, non-discriminatory reasons: documented performance problems that predate any disability disclosure, violations of workplace policies applied equally to everyone, genuine business restructuring, and attendance issues that genuinely exceed what any reasonable accommodation could address.

The question isn't whether your employer had a reason to fire you. It's whether that reason was the real reason, or whether it was a cover for discrimination.

How to Document Your Case

If you believe your termination was discriminatory, what you collect in the weeks and months ahead can determine what options you have. This isn't about building a case in a courtroom sense yet. It's about capturing what you already know, before memories fade and records disappear.

Build a timeline. Note the date you disclosed your disability or requested an accommodation, the date of any denial or lack of response, and the date of your termination. Include the dates of performance reviews, disciplinary actions, or policy changes that occurred between disclosure and termination. Written out in sequence, patterns often become clearer.

Gather written communications. Save emails, text messages, and letters related to your accommodation request, your performance, and your termination. If your employer responded to your accommodation request in writing, save it. If they didn't respond at all, note that.

Collect performance records. Copies of performance reviews, awards, promotions, or commendations you received before disclosing your disability show what your standing was before the employer knew. If your evaluations were consistently strong and then abruptly changed, that contrast is significant.

Note comparative situations. If you're aware of non-disabled coworkers who committed similar infractions without being fired, or who received accommodations and second chances you didn't, write it down. What you know from working there is evidence, even if you can't get it on paper right now.

Talk to coworkers. If colleagues heard discriminatory comments, observed different treatment, or can confirm your performance was acceptable before the accommodation request, ask whether they'd be willing to provide a statement. Many won't want to get involved. Some will.

Your Legal Options

Understanding your options isn't a commitment to pursue any of them. It's information you need before the deadlines pass.

Filing an EEOC charge. Before suing under the ADA, you must file a charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission or your state's fair employment agency. You have 180 days from the date of termination to file with the federal EEOC, and in states with their own anti-discrimination agencies, typically 300 days. Missing that deadline can permanently close the door on a lawsuit, which is why time matters even if you're not sure you want to litigate.

Filing doesn't require a lawyer, but consulting one before you file can help you frame the charge effectively and avoid procedural mistakes that weaken your position. The EEOC will investigate and may dismiss the charge, find cause for discrimination, or issue a right-to-sue letter that allows you to proceed in court.

Pursuing a wrongful termination lawsuit. If you receive a right-to-sue letter, you have 90 days from receiving it to file in federal court. Successful wrongful termination claims can result in reinstatement, back pay, front pay, compensatory damages for emotional distress, and attorney's fees. Most employment attorneys who handle these cases work on contingency, meaning no upfront cost to you.

When to Consult an Attorney

Some situations warrant immediate consultation with an employment lawyer:

• You were fired within weeks of requesting an accommodation
• Your employer refused to engage in any interactive process
• You have documentation showing disparate treatment compared to non-disabled coworkers
• Your employer made comments suggesting your disability was the real reason for termination
• You're being offered a severance agreement with a release of claims

That last point is worth pausing on. A severance agreement with a release of claims typically means signing away your right to sue. Before you sign anything, understand what you're giving up. An attorney can review the agreement and advise you on whether the severance is adequate given the potential value of your legal claims.

Common Questions

Can I be fired for missing work due to disability-related medical appointments?

Not if reasonable accommodation would allow you to attend those appointments without undue disruption to your job. Employers must consider schedule modifications or unpaid leave as accommodations unless doing so creates genuine undue hardship. Requesting accommodations properly reduces the risk of termination in these situations.

What if my employer says I was fired for poor performance, but I think it's really about my disability?

Look at the timeline and the documentation. Were performance issues documented before your employer knew about your disability? Were you given any opportunity to improve? Were non-disabled employees with similar performance issues treated differently? Pretext can be proven through these inconsistencies.

Does the ADA protect me if I can't do my job even with accommodations?

No. The ADA requires that you be able to perform the essential functions of the job with or without reasonable accommodation. If you genuinely cannot perform those functions even with every available accommodation, termination may be lawful. But if you could perform those functions with an accommodation your employer refused to provide, the calculation is different, and that refusal matters.

Can my employer fire me for being "too expensive" due to my disability?

Not if the cost they're citing is the cost of providing reasonable accommodation. The ADA prohibits firing someone because accommodation is inconvenient or moderately expensive. The "undue hardship" standard the law uses is a high bar, not a low one.

What counts as retaliation under the ADA?

Retaliation is any adverse action, including termination, demotion, reduced hours, or hostile treatment, taken because you asserted your ADA rights by requesting an accommodation or filing a complaint. Recognizing retaliation patterns is critical to understanding whether your termination was retaliatory.

How long do I have to file an EEOC charge?

180 days from the date of termination when filing with the federal EEOC. In states with their own anti-discrimination agencies, the period extends to 300 days. Act as soon as you suspect discrimination. Missing these deadlines can permanently bar your claim, and consulting a lawyer early leaves you with the most options.

The path from "something felt wrong about how I was fired" to a formal legal claim is not one everyone takes. But knowing what your rights are and what evidence exists gives you a foundation for making that decision on your own terms, not your employer's.