Is it legal for my employer to cancel my insurance and take my work badge because I had to take some time off for surgery and therapy?

*The answer to your question depends upon whether the Family & Medical Leave Act ("FMLA") applies to the situation. For the FMLA to apply, the following conditions must be satisfied: [1] You had to work for the company for at least 12 months prior to the beginning of the leave; [2] the employer must have 50 or more employees at your worksite, or within a 75 mile radius of your worksite; [3] you must have given the employer adequate and timely notice of the need for leave under the FMLA (although one is not usually required to mention the FMLA by name, nor is one usually required to use the words "leave" or "leaves of absence"); [4] you must be able to return to work within 12 weeks of the beginning of the leave; [5] you had to have worked at least 1250 hours in the 12 months prior to the beginning of the leave (which usually averages about 25 hours per week); and [6] you must have timely submitted to the employer any completed forms that the employer asked you to have completed and submitted back to it.** ** **If all of these conditions are met, and the employer did not eliminate the job position for reasons unrelated to the taking leave, then there could be a claim under the FMLA.

Yes, and generally they can unless there is some form of contract, company policy which would allow you the benefits which you are claiming. Other than that, you are paid because and when you work.