I don't know. by literal meaning, you should be terminated if you couldn't show an valid EAD. After you get your new EAD, you could be rehired. But, that's not practical. For me, there's no differenece between PTO and unpaid leave. Even if you take unpaid leave, you are still an emloyee.On the other side, PTO doesn't mean you are an employee. if you are terminated, the emloyer still need pay you for unused sick leave, personal leave.The key point is that you didn't work on EAD gap. That's why 863211 suggest we should get letter to prove we didn't work on EAD gap.That's just my personal points.