Demanding Work During Medical Leave Can Generate Million-Dollar Fines

Labor and Employment attorney Flora Emilia Feijoó was cited in Asuntos Legales commenting on the rights of workers during medical leave. Lawyers interviewed for the article highlighted that medical leave is not merely a period of rest but rather the formal recognition that an employee is temporarily unable to perform their work, because of which an employer cannot ask them to complete any work – even attending meetings or assigning small tasks – during the leave period. Flora pointed out that Colombia's Constitutional Court has reiterated that granting medical leave benefits "seeks to guarantee an income to the worker during the period in which, for health reasons, they cannot perform their duties, thus protecting their and their family's source of income while they recuperate." She also differentiated between medical leave and medical accommodations such as extra breaks or ergonomic adjustments to workspaces.

READ: Demanding Work During Medical Leave Can Generate Million-Dollar Fines