Montana Human Rights Act

Montana does not have a state-level family or medical leave law that supplements the federal FMLA. For most employees in Montana, the right to unpaid, job-protected leave for serious health conditions or caregiving relies entirely on the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). To qualify, you generally must work for an employer with 50+ employees and have worked there for at least 12 months.

Montana workers benefit from broad anti-discrimination protections under the Montana Human Rights Act, codified in Title 49, Chapter 2 of the Montana Code Annotated. Like Alaska, Montana’s law applies to all employers with one or more employees, making it one of the most inclusive anti-discrimination statutes in the country. The Montana Human Rights Bureau, a division of the Montana Department of Labor and Industry, enforces these protections and investigates complaints of workplace discrimination, including those based on disability and mental health conditions.

What makes Montana truly unique among all 50 states is the Wrongful Discharge from Employment Act (WDEA). Montana is the only state that has abolished at-will employment. Under the WDEA, after an employee completes a probationary period (typically 6 months unless the employer sets a different period), they can only be terminated for “good cause.” This means your employer must have a legitimate, non-pretextual reason to fire you, which provides an additional layer of protection for workers dealing with health conditions or disabilities.

Even without a comprehensive state leave law, Montana workers have some of the strongest employment protections in the country through the combination of federal FMLA, the ADA, Montana’s broad Human Rights Act, and the nation’s only just-cause termination law. Understanding which protections apply depends on your employer’s size, your length of employment, and the nature of your condition.

Leave: Montana does not have a state family or medical leave law. Federal FMLA is the primary source of job-protected leave.

Anti-Discrimination: The Montana Human Rights Act covers all employers with 1 or more employees, far broader than the federal ADA's 15-employee threshold. Montana is also the only state that prohibits at-will termination through the Wrongful Discharge from Employment Act.