Work options-Kaylene and Cheryl

[Guest guest]

Sorry I didn't answer this one sooner guys, but I haven't been on my

computer much lately. With the girls being out of school for the

summer, I don't get to the computer much, plus, I haven't been

feeling that great. The Fentanyl patch and I have NOT been getting

along!

Anyway, about work. I don't know what my company does to evaluate

the needs of a worker with special needs, but since I work in a

factory, everything is pretty much made of steel and bolted to the

floor. The area is designed to be ergonomic for the average person

actually. It's just dealing with the heavy bearings, and if I'm on

a machine, I can't move around like I can on a bench.

To allow for " restrictions " the company doctor would have to examine

me, which I have no problems with, but there is a catch. They want

access to my personal medical records, which I have a HUGE problem

with. Even my PCP told me it was a bad idea, along with everyone

else. They all keep telling me that they are looking for a way to

get rid of me, and I tend to believe it. My doctor also said that

if this doctor was worth his/her salt as a doctor, they could make

their OWN determination as to my condition without my records. My

friend's dad works there, and has MD, and they are doing the same

thing to him. About the only thing I agreed to is a summary of how

my illness has progressed from the beginning til present.

I really think I do need to get out of there, and into a better

environment, both activity and air quality wise. When I'm not there

for an extended period of time, I'm not in as much pain. I'm

definitely considering asking my doctor to do the heavy metal

toxicity testing on me, just out of curiousity, to see if that place

is making my body toxic, and thus, worse. One of my co-workers had

it done by an " alternative " pracitioner, and benzene showed up in

her system!

I'm giving more and more thought to going to Jobs and Family

Services and looking into retraining or more schooling if they

continue to fight me and give me the feeling they are trying to get

me out of there. It's not a very family or associate " friendly "

place to work...all they really care about is the bottom line. I

got a memo last week that said that since I stated that I was

getting worse, and my FMLA was deemed permanent, it would require

starting back up with second and third opinions, and I can't help

but wonder what happened to the first opinion! More and more that

place is dragging me down and making me miserable.

Still, some days I'd just like to give up completely, but I know

that it would be a long, hard fight to get disability based on Fibro

and back problems. I'm just so tired of fighting tooth and nail

with my company. I know I'm not making any friends in HR or

corporate medical, but I'm so tired of them jerking me around,

denying my FMLA paperwork for idiotic little reasons like one little

box not being checked, or something being vague, when all they have

to do is call the doctor to clear it up! Is it time for me to call

in a lawyer to protect my interests, and if so, what kind of lawyer

do I call? I'm just so frustrated with the whole thing!

Guess I better start that job hunt now, huh, just in case this all

falls apart!

Jen

[Guest guest]

Hi Jen -

You'd probably be better off leaving your current company, but if

you need to stay, you should get informed about ADA (Americans with

Disability Act) law. I'm not a lawyer, but I've read extensively on

this topic for my own situation, and you can find some great

websites that provide very accurate information.

So in case you or anyone else is interested, here are a few facts:

For example, you expressed concern that your employer would be able

to obtain your medical records. But the fact is that your employer

may NOT request medical records other than those that directly

document your stated disability. In other words, your doctors will

provide very limited information dealing only with the documentation

of the disability you are claiming if you claim ADA rights. No

other medical records are legally available to an employer.

It's also questionable whether or not your employer can require you

to undergo a medical exam if you are claiming ADA. Some rules vary

by state, not because of the ADA (which is of course a federal law)

but because of individual states' laws. It also varies depending on

whether you are applying for a job or are already in a job. But in

Jen's case, where she is already employed, they might not be able to

require a med exam when you claim ADA if they do not require the

exam of every employee. Or, they may not be able to make you undergo

one if they're looking for a particular disability (one that will

make you not eligible for the job, for example). You'll need to

consult an ADA attorney in your state to see what the law is and how

your situation fits into it and what protections are available to

you.

You also need to be aware of what counts as an " accommodation " and

what doesn't. Just making your workstation ergonomic is not the

only accommodation available to you. A " reasonable accommodation "

might include reassigning you to a different position entirely

within the company - such as an office job? - if you are qualified

and the position is vacant (or expected to be in a reasonable amount

of time) and the pay is similar (or less - you can't require that

they give you a promotion to do the new job).

Jen, I would think that you certainly qualify as someone with a

disability under the ADA - the definition is simply " someone with a

physical or mental impairment that substantially limits the ability

to perform one or more life activities. " Life activities include

things like walking, sleeping, lifting, etc... You only need your

doctor (or even physical therapist!) to be willing to state and

document that you have this limitation. I used to think that you

needed to be certified " disabled " by the state or feds or something,

but that's not at all the case under ADA. Your doctors' word is all

it takes.

It would be very worthwhile for you to consult an ADA attorney to

determine your rights and how to go about claiming a disability and

what your employer can and can't do once you notify them. It's a

complicated business, and you want to make sure that you don't do it

in a way that they can use against you - for example, if they want

to get rid of you, they'd probably love to find a way to say that

you are so disabled you aren't capable of working at all.

Overstating the problem in your doctor's initial documentation can

do that to you! A lawyer needs to be involved in the drafting of

that statement and all your interactions with the company.

BTW, I got all my information from the Arizona State Center for

Disability Law, a state-funded organization that provides lawyers

and legal advice free of charge to Arizona residents on all areas of

ADA law. They have a tremendous set of documents on their website

that make much of this stuff very clear (or as clear as it can be,

given that the interpretations of the law are constantly changing!)

It's one of the best online reference sites I've found - and I've

found that many other states' websites on this issue pick up and use

the ACDL materials verbatim. You can access their informational

guides at their main website: www.acdl.com It's a great place to

start.

Good luck to you or anybody who is thinking about requesting ADA

accommodations. It's not an easy fight, especially if the employer

is contentious to begin with, but it could be virtually lifesaving.

Cheryl in AZ