Beware firing employee during medical tests.

Remind supervisors that terminating (or retaliating against) an employee while she is undergoing medical testing could easily trigger a lawsuit.

Reason: It's illegal to discriminate against an employee based on suspicions that she might become ill or disabled in the future. That would amount to regarding her as disabled, which violates the ADA.

Recent case: Aryan, a title clerk at a California car dealership, missed several days of work due to a sudden illness. She was hospitalized and called her supervisor to explain that she was undergoing testing for cancer. She said she planned to return to work in a few days.

Shortly after, Aryan received a termination letter that said she was being let go to "focus on her health."

Aryan complained to the EEOC, which sued the dealership. The lawsuit...