Can I take time off to care for my sick parent without losing my job?

Jurisdiction: United States • Practice Area: Employment Law • Responsible editor: Cong Ho• Published October 25, 2026

Quick Summary

It depends on whether your employer is large enough to be covered by federal law. If your company meets the size requirements, you may be entitled to unpaid leave to care for your father without losing your job.

The situation

I live in Ohio and have worked for the same retail company for about three years now, earning roughly $18 an hour. Everything was going fine until last month when my father was diagnosed with a serious chronic illness that requires intensive treatment. Starting next Monday, October 14th, he is going to need someone to drive him to his medical appointments three times a week and help him recover at home for at least the next two months. I really need to keep my job to pay my rent and support myself, but I also can't just leave him alone while he is so weak. I already went to my manager, Sarah, and explained the situation, but she just told me that 'we don't really do unpaid time off here' and that if I miss too many shifts, I might face disciplinary action or even get fired. I haven't officially filed any paperwork yet because I wasn't sure if I even had any rights to ask for this kind of flexibility. I am wondering if there is any way I can legally take this time off to look after him for these eight weeks without my employer being allowed to fire me for it.

Detailed Analysis

Whether you can take time off to care for your father without being fired depends on the size of your retail company. Under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), you may have a right to leave if you are an "eligible employee"[1].

To be an eligible employee, you must have worked for your employer for at least 12 months and at least 1,250 hours during the previous 12-month period[1]. Additionally, your employer must meet certain size requirements. An employer is generally defined as someone who "employs 50 or more employees for each working day during each of 20 or more calendar workweeks in the current or preceding calendar year"[1]. If your company is smaller than this, you may not have these specific federal protections.

If you are eligible, you are entitled to leave "in order to care for the spouse, or a son, daughter, or parent, of the employee, if such spouse, son, daughter, or parent has a serious health condition"[2]. A serious health condition includes an illness that requires "continuing treatment by a health care provider"[1]. Since your father's illness requires intensive treatment, it likely qualifies.

If you qualify, you can take this leave as a "reduced leave schedule"[2]. A reduced leave schedule is a plan that "reduces the usual number of hours per workweek, or hours per workday, of an employee"[1]. This would allow you to work part-time while attending to your father's needs. If you take this leave for the intended purpose, you are entitled to be "restored by the employer to the position of employment held by the employee when the leave commenced"[3]. This means they must give you your job back or an equivalent one.

Note that this leave is generally unpaid. Your employer is not required to pay you, though you may be able to use your own accrued vacation or sick time[2].

Statutory Citations

Legal Citation: Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 § 29 U.S.C. § 2611 — Definitions
"The term “eligible employee” means an employee who has been employed— (i) for at least 12 months by the employer... and (ii) for at least 1,250 hours of service with such employer during the previous 12-month period."
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Legal Citation: Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 § 29 U.S.C. § 2612 — Leave requirement
"an eligible employee shall be entitled to a total of 12 workweeks of leave... In order to care for the spouse, or a son, daughter, or parent, of the employee, if such spouse, son, daughter, or parent has a serious health condition."
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Legal Citation: Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 § 29 U.S.C. § 2614 — Employment and benefits protection
"any eligible employee who takes leave under section 2612 of this title for the intended purpose of the leave shall be entitled, on return from such leave— (A) to be restored by the employer to the position of employment held by the employee when the leave commenced"
View Official Legislation →

Important Legal Disclaimer

General legal information, not formal legal advice. The information provided on LawAsked does not constitute formal legal advice and creates no attorney-client relationship. If you require legal assistance, please consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction.

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