Home → Day-to-Day Matters → Ask-The-Expert Conferences: Day-to-Day Matters → September 2007: Working During Treatment → Laid off due to diagnosis?

Laid off due to diagnosis?

Page last modified on: October 10, 2008

Question from AngelA: I received a lay-off notice on Thursday, and had had my first breast cancer surgery the Monday prior. The margins did not come up clear, and a sentinel node tested positive. I live alone and am self-supporting. I was offered a severance package, but can I get additional compensation due to my precarious stage of treatment? I'm 52 years old.: Answer —Barbara Hoffman, J.D.: The timing of being laid off is very suspicious. If you were laid off within just a few days of your employer learning of your cancer diagnosis, that's a red flag that you're being laid off because of your cancer, which would be illegal under most circumstances. So I would recommend that before signing any kind of package with the employer, that you consult with a local employment attorney who can give you advice so you don't sign away what you may be entitled to. Additionally, you may want to consider whether you want to stay and keep your job, which you may be legally entitled to keep, or if this is a sign that this is not a terrific employer to work for, and ending your employment under the best possible terms may be better for you.

On Wednesday, September 19, 2007, our Ask-the-Expert Online Conference was called Working During Treatment. Barbara Hoffman, J.D., Irene Card, and moderator Ruth Oratz, M.D., F.A.C.P. answered your questions about the legal, financial, physical, and emotional aspects of working during breast cancer treatment.

The materials presented in these conferences do not necessarily reflect the views of breastcancer.org. A qualified healthcare professional should be consulted before using any therapeutic product or regimen discussed. All readers should verify all information and data before employing any therapies described here.

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Meet the Experts

Barbara Hoffman, J.D. is a member of the Legal Research and Writing faculty of Rutgers Law School B in Newark and is the founding chair of the National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship.

Irene Card is president of Medical Insurance Claims, Inc., a health insurance services company in New Jersey, which she founded in 1980. Ms. Card is the former insurance advisor to the National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship and Memorial Sloan Kettering Post Treatment Resource Program.

Ruth Oratz, M.D., F.A.C.P. is associate professor of clinical medicine at New York University School of Medicine. She is the founder of The Women's Oncology & Wellness Practice in New York City where she specializes in treating women with breast cancer and other malignancies, as well as women at risk for cancer.