FAQs

June’s Law is proposed legislation designed to protect employees with cancer and other serious medical conditions from retaliation, termination, or coercive employment practices when they need time, flexibility, or temporary accommodations to receive medical care.

It is named in honor of June, whose story reveals critical gaps in existing employment protections.

Current federal laws—such as the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)—leave many medically vulnerable employees unprotected due to eligibility thresholds, narrow definitions, or employer discretion.

June’s Law addresses the reality that serious illness does not wait for tenure, full-time status, or legal technicalities.

June’s Law is designed to protect individuals facing serious medical conditions that create significant health risks or require intensive treatment, either of which may disrupt the ability to work.  

These conditions generally fall into four categories:

Category A includes a small group of high-mortality diagnoses with a trajectory typified by resistance to curative treatment and a clinical focus on ongoing medical management. Category A illnesses include conditions like Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, End-Stage Renal Disease, and Huntington’s Disease.

Category B includes acute medical conditions that involve sudden and severe impairment of one or more vital organ systems. Without rapid intervention, patients with these diagnoses face death or permanent incapacitation. Category B illnesses include Septic Shock, Traumatic Brain Injury, Acute Myocardial Infarction (i.e., a massive heart attack), or Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome.

Category C serves as a protective category for oncological illnesses and recognizes that cancer diagnoses generally carry a latent risk of sudden progression or life-threatening metastasis regardless of the patient’s current stage. Category C illnesses include Leukemia, Hodgkin and Non-Hodgkin Lymphomas, and carcinomas such as Breast, Pancreatic, and Liver Cancer.

Category D captures conditions that may or may not be immediately terminal or acute but nevertheless require aggressive or high-risk treatments—such as chemotherapy or organ or bone marrow transplants—that can cause significant physical or functional limitations. These include Aplastic Anemia, Systemic Lupus Erythematosus, Multiple Sclerosis, and Organ Transplant Rejection.

June’s Law was inspired by the experiences of a cancer patient, but many qualifying diagnoses will fall into more than one of these categories. Each category reflects a common reality: individuals with these conditions face significant medical vulnerability, treatment-related work disruption, or risk of serious health decline that warrants protection under a unified framework.

FMLA only applies to employees who:

• Have worked for their employer for at least 12 months,
• Have worked a minimum number of hours, and
• Work for a covered employer.

June’s Law recognizes that serious illness can occur before these thresholds are met—and that lack of eligibility should not expose workers to retaliation or termination.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) protects individuals with disabilities and requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations unless doing so would create an undue hardship. June’s Law builds on that framework but shifts focus to provide protections based on medical vulnerability. It is responsive to conditions that may be temporary, treatment-related, or rapidly evolving, and its applicability does not depend on whether a person meets the ADA’s definition of disability. In this way, June’s Law addresses gaps that many employees with critical medical conditions are actively facing.

Additionally, June’s Law makes clear that, for qualifying individuals, accommodations may include medically necessary leave and temporary adjustments to job duties during periods of treatment or recovery. In addition, it strengthens protections against retaliation and encourages employers to engage in a good-faith interactive process when addressing employee needs. Such protections are both reasonable and humane.

Under June’s Law, prohibited retaliatory conduct would include:

• Terminating or disciplining an employee after disclosure of a cancer diagnosis or serious medical condition
• Pressuring employees to delay or interrupt medical treatment due to staffing shortages
• Denying temporary flexibility or leave when used as a pretext for adverse action
• Conditioning continued employment on working during periods of medical incapacity

No. June’s Law does not mandate unlimited leave or permanent accommodations.

It requires employers to engage in a good-faith interactive process and provide reasonable, temporary modifications unless doing so would create an undue hardship—in this way, the framework is similar to that used in the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act.

June’s Law would use the same established system that protects workers from discrimination based on race, age, or disability. Individuals would work with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to resolve issues and enforce their rights. By using this familiar process, June’s Law fits seamlessly into existing workplace protections without creating a new, confusing bureaucracy.

The key difference is that June’s Law establishes a new protected status based on medical reality. Under current laws (like the ADA), employees typically must prove their illness poses “substantial limitations” before they are protected—and even then, they must demonstrate they can still perform all “essential job functions.”

June’s Law removes these hurdles. If an employee has a qualifying diagnosis, they are protected immediately—regardless of their current physical impairment, their ability to perform specific tasks during treatment, or how long they have been on the job. Additionally, the law includes strict anti-retaliation safeguards, ensuring that no worker is penalized for asserting their right to care and recovery.

No. June’s Law is pro-fairness, pro-dignity, and pro-workforce stability.

By providing clear expectations and a structured interactive process, it helps employers avoid harmful decisions, legal risk, and the loss of skilled employees during temporary periods of medical crisis.

Supporters can:

• Share their own stories
• Educate others about the gaps in current protections
• Advocate with legislators
• Follow updates as June’s Law advances