Temporary Injuries, Surgery and Short-Term Conditions: Are They Protected at Work in New York?

A temporary injury or short-term condition can be a protected disability in New York. The belief that "temporary means not covered" is wrong at all three layers of law: the federal ADA's six-month "transitory" exception applies only to one kind of claim, the New York State regulation expressly protects temporary disabilities, and the New York City Commission on Human Rights says short-term injuries may qualify under the City law.⁠^[1][2][3][4]

What differs is how easily a short-term condition qualifies and what the employer has to do about it. This page covers broken bones, surgery recovery, short illnesses and similar conditions. For the general definitions, see what counts as a disability in New York.

Short-term conditions under the three layers

Question	Federal law (ADA)	New York State Human Rights Law (NYSHRL)	New York City Human Rights Law (NYCHRL)
Does short duration rule the condition out?	No. The effects of an impairment lasting or expected to last fewer than six months can be substantially limiting.⁠[2]	No. A current employee experiencing a temporary disability is protected where the person will be able to perform the job satisfactorily after a reasonable time for recovery.⁠[3]	No. The Commission says both temporary and short-term injuries, as well as chronic conditions, may qualify as disabilities.⁠[4]
What must the condition be?	An impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, a record of one, or being regarded as having one.⁠[6]	An impairment that prevents the exercise of a normal bodily function or is demonstrable by medically accepted clinical or laboratory diagnostic techniques.⁠[7]	Any physical, medical, mental or psychological impairment, or a history or record of one.⁠[8]
Special limit for short-term conditions	The regarded-as prong does not apply to impairments that are transitory and minor; "transitory" means an actual or expected duration of 6 months or less.⁠[1]	The regulation requires no more than de minimis accommodations for temporary disabilities in worksite accessibility, equipment, job restructuring or support services.⁠[3]	The Commission says a condition can qualify even if, when treated, it permits activity without limitation.⁠[4]
Which employers	Employers with 15 or more employees.⁠[9]	All employers within the state.⁠[10]	Generally, employers with four or more persons in their employ.⁠[11]

Federal law: what "transitory and minor" does and does not mean

The ADA has three ways to meet its definition of disability: an impairment that substantially limits a major life activity, a record of such an impairment, or being regarded as having such an impairment.⁠^[6] The phrase "transitory and minor" appears in only one of them. The statute says the regarded-as prong does not apply to impairments that are transitory and minor, and it defines a transitory impairment as one with an actual or expected duration of 6 months or less.⁠^[1]

The EEOC's ADA regulation spells out the consequence: the six-month limit does not apply to the actual-disability or record-of prongs, and the effects of an impairment lasting or expected to last fewer than six months can be substantially limiting.⁠^[2] In 2021, in Hamilton v. Westchester County, the Second Circuit concluded that a district court erred in categorically excluding short-term injuries from qualifying as a disability under the ADA.⁠^[12] Hamilton was brought by a jail detainee under Title II of the ADA, not by an employee, so it speaks to the definition of disability and not to workplace duties.⁠^[12]

A short-term injury still has to meet the federal test. The ADA's list of major life activities includes walking, standing, lifting, bending and working, and since January 1, 2009, the definition is to be construed in favor of broad coverage.⁠^[13][14] Under the EEOC regulation, an impairment need not prevent or severely restrict an activity to be substantially limiting, but not every impairment is a disability.⁠^[15] And an employer owes no reasonable accommodation under the ADA to a person covered solely under the regarded-as prong.⁠^[16]

New York State law: the regulation on temporary disabilities

The State definition of disability does not ask whether a major life activity is substantially limited. It covers a physical, mental or medical impairment that prevents the exercise of a normal bodily function or is demonstrable by medically accepted clinical or laboratory diagnostic techniques.⁠^[7] The Division of Human Rights' regulation states that this definition covers many conditions that have been found not to be disabilities under the federal ADA.⁠^[17]

The same regulation has a subdivision on temporary disabilities. It makes three points:

• Who is protected. A current employee experiencing a temporary disability is protected where the person will be able to satisfactorily perform the duties of the job after a reasonable accommodation in the form of a reasonable time for recovery.⁠^[3]
• What is limited. For temporary disabilities the regulation requires no more than de minimis accommodations in worksite accessibility, equipment, job restructuring or support services.⁠^[3]
• What may be required. The law may require modified work schedules, reassignment to an available position or available light duty, or adjustments to work schedules for recovery.⁠^[3]

The regulation names the factors that will be important in deciding what is reasonable: the employer's past practice, its pre-existing policies regarding leave time and light duty, specific workplace needs, the size and flexibility of the relevant workforce, and the employee's overall attendance record.⁠^[3]

One State-law limit applies to every employment disability claim. In the employment provisions, "disability" is limited to disabilities that, upon the provision of reasonable accommodations, do not prevent the person from performing the activities of the job in a reasonable manner.⁠^[7]

The State statute also uses the temporary-disability category for pregnancy: pregnancy-related conditions "shall be treated as temporary disabilities" under the Human Rights Law.⁠^[18] See pregnancy accommodation in New York.

New York City law: short-term injuries can qualify

The City law defines disability as any physical, medical, mental or psychological impairment, or a history or record of such impairment.⁠^[8] In its December 2025 enforcement guidance, the NYC Commission on Human Rights states that both temporary and short-term injuries, as well as chronic conditions, may qualify, and that they can meet the City definition even if the impairment, when treated, permits activity without limitation or does not substantially limit a major life activity.⁠^[4] The Commission describes this as distinct from federal law.⁠^[4]

Once a condition qualifies, the City's accommodation rules apply. The City law defines a reasonable accommodation as one that can be made without causing undue hardship, and it places the burden of proving undue hardship on the employer.⁠^[19] The Commission says an employer must first prioritize accommodations that let the employee stay in the current position, and that where no other accommodation can be made, paid or unpaid leave may be offered as a temporary accommodation.⁠^[20]

Time off to recover

Recovery time can come from accommodation law, from leave laws, or from both.

• Leave as an accommodation. Under federal law, EEOC guidance treats accrued paid leave or unpaid leave as a form of reasonable accommodation when a disability makes it necessary.⁠^[21] The Second Circuit has said the duty to accommodate does not require an employer to hold an injured employee's position open indefinitely; in the same case it treated a request for two weeks as a request for a finite amount of time.⁠^[21] The State regulation lists adjustments to work schedule for treatment or recovery among possible accommodations.⁠^[22]
• Federal FMLA leave. An eligible employee is entitled to a total of 12 workweeks of leave in a 12-month period for a serious health condition that makes the employee unable to perform the functions of the job.⁠^[23]
• New York State disability benefits. For an injury or sickness that did not arise from the job, the statutory benefit is one-half of the weekly wage, capped at $170 per week, for no more than 26 weeks in any 52 consecutive weeks.⁠^[24]
• New York State sick leave. Sick leave may be used for a mental or physical illness, injury or health condition, whether or not it has been diagnosed.⁠^[25]

New York Paid Family Leave is not for the worker's own injury; it covers family care, bonding and certain military-related needs.⁠^[26] The guide to how the leave laws fit together compares these programs, and medical leave as a reasonable accommodation covers leave beyond them.

Light duty, schedule changes and attendance rules

Under the New York State regulation, accommodation of a temporary disability may include reassignment to an available position or available light duty.⁠^[3] The word "available" matters: the regulation also says the Human Rights Law does not require the creation of a completely unique position tailored to the individual's abilities.⁠^[22]

Attendance policies are treated the same way. The State regulation says the Human Rights Law does not require accommodation of behavior that fails consistently applied workplace standards, but that reasonable and necessary deviations from time and attendance policy must be allowed as accommodations.⁠^[27] Separately, New York Labor Law § 215 treats assessing a point or occurrence for a legally protected absence as retaliation.⁠^[28]

An employee's first choice is not always the one provided. The State regulation says the employer has the right to select which reasonable accommodation will be provided, so long as it is effective in meeting the need.⁠^[29] For how the conversation is supposed to work, see the interactive process and cooperative dialogue.

If the injury happened at work

A work injury brings in the workers' compensation system. Under New York's Workers' Compensation Law § 120, it is unlawful for an employer to discharge or otherwise discriminate against an employee because the employee claimed or attempted to claim workers' compensation or testified in a proceeding under that law, where no other valid reason is shown to exist for the employer's action.⁠^[5] A complaint must be filed within two years.⁠^[5] On finding a violation, the Workers' Compensation Board is to order that the employee be restored to the job and compensated for lost pay, with attorney fees, and the employer is liable for a penalty of $100 to $500.⁠^[5]

That protection is about retaliation for the claim. Whether the injury is also a disability that the employer has to accommodate is a separate question under the laws described above. The guide to retaliation for taking leave or filing a workers' compensation claim covers the retaliation rules.

When recovery takes longer than expected

A short-term condition sometimes turns into a long one. Under the ADA, an impairment that is episodic or in remission is a disability if it would substantially limit a major life activity when active.⁠^[30]

The return date matters under State law. The Court of Appeals has held that indefinite leave is not considered a reasonable accommodation under the NYSHRL, in a case where the employee told his employer his return date was indeterminate.⁠^[31] Under the City law, the Commission says a return date may be approximate and may need to change, and that no accommodation, including indefinite leave, is categorically excluded.⁠^[32] These rules are explained in fired while on medical leave.

Practical steps

• Tell your employer, in writing if you can, what you are unable to do for now and when your provider expects that to change.
• Ask your provider for a note that describes work restrictions and an expected recovery period.
• Keep copies of what you submit and any response, and note the dates of each absence.
• If you are asking for a change at work during recovery, how to request a reasonable accommodation explains the process.