Anyone with ADA accomadations at work?

[calulu]

or am I the lone freak?

Looking for anyone that has had to have special treatment/hours whatever due to an ongoing medical condition. Does the company act sucky or decent?

[Lingering Grin]

I had a former coworker that did.

He had to go to Physical therapy 2 days a week, so he had to leave work like 2 hours early on those days.

Management was cool with it... half the time they had to remind HIM to go, practically kicked him out the front door so he wouldn't be late for his appointment.

[LostMyMind]

I did, the company was told up front and then they became major suckage afterward. Mostly because the immediate supervisor was an idiot that couldn't understand that not all disabilities are "wheelchairs and such". And he would ask me to do things I couldn't do, I would tell him "I can't do that, unless you plan on giving me the next few paid days to recover." Then he'll bitch about it. A few days later, he'll ask again.

I took lots of pleasure in hearing that a few months after I left, the entire department got removed from his "supervision". If he wasn't a VP, I would bet he would have been fired.

There are lots of loopholes that the bigger companies will exploit. But the company I work before the "acquisition" to that company, accommodated me very well.

[depechemodefan]

I have a co-worker who exploits it. IE, she forgot her meds one day, starts hitting a male co-worker, and when she was going to get fired her folks (they have some money) threaten with a lawsuit for discrimination (she has a physical disability).

Oh, and she started to flirt with a construction worker (while our building went under renovations). He said he was married when she asked him out to dinner. Then his friend offered to take her out and she went to the foreman (or whoever) and complained sexual harrassement.

But there are other people with needs to go to the doctor. Our dept. is usually great with giving people time off.

[calulu]

Not asking about being given slack to go to the doctor or asking if it's okay to act like an assclown on the days I'm on meds (every day). The situation is just a little bit different.

I have multiple chemical sensitivity and when I took my job at the floral call center I had been totally stable for about six months on mast cell inhibitors and no longer had reactions to things that usually invoked life threatening reactions, such as aerosol sprays used within five feet of me, cleaning supplies, industrial chemical, other peoples perfumes or cigarette smoke. Before they hit on the right drug combo I'd bounced in and out of the hospital in anaphalax shock about 7 times in one year. Got good at driving myself to the er right after using an epipen. I had stabilized to the point where I could pump my own gas and go out into the world again.

Took the job with the floral call center, told the VP that hired me during the interview that I had the condition and it was largely controlled by daily drug therapy but that I might need to slip off for nebulizer treatments on those rare days when I was reacting. Management said they would honor the request not to allow aerosols to be used within twenty feet of my desk and that their company policy was due to the fact that it's an enclosed building and some people are allergic to smoke and the like that no smoking was allowed anywhere on the grounds, you have to drive off site to smoke and you better not reek of cigarettes or heavy perfume. They were even kind enough to make sure I was set up pretty much away from many people. They agreed to my ADA request and said they would work with me.

Since starting 5 months ago I've had a few minor reactions and they've been cool about it. A month ago I noticed two things, my hands and waist has some swelling in them and that I'd started feeling the anxiousness I would feel during the beginning of a mast cell overload. Went in for my three month check up with the critical care pulmo that treats me and he noticed the swelling but said I seemed to be doing well otherwise, took blood to check the mast cell levels in my blood. Even on mast cell inhibitors my mast cell levels were off the charts and within days I started wheezing again, swelling horribly, feeing tired from the flood of thinned blood in my system courtesy of the mast cell heparin release along with anxiety from the mast cell influx of adrenaline flooding my body. They stepped up my drugs tremendously and I was started on the strongest mast cell inhibitors and steroids along with other stuff with long latin names.

Likely I'm going to be shortly tested for a rare type of leukemia and a few other weird illnesses. I'm looking at chemo and a speenectomy. In the meantime here we are, in the middle of floral madness, busiest week of the year, Mother's Day. The tests will have to be run at either Mayo Clinic or Johhs Hopkins, I have to wait for a slot

So for now my doctor is trying to just bomb the crap out of my condition with drugs and isolate me from chemicals. My doctor gave me a ADA form for work stating that I should be allowed to either a) have one of the empty glass sealed offices along the wall where the doors shut so that I can be totally isolated from the other employees fumes and chemicals or that b) be allowed to be a home agent and work from home. We do have about twenty people that work from home because they are high sellers. My sales rates are right under neath theirs, in fact I routinely surpass about half of them so I know my sales rates are good enough to be a home agent.

Yesterday spoke with the VP that hired me and turned in my ADA request, not telling her the dr really thinks I need to quit and go on disability. I don't want to do that because I like working and I make serious bank selling stupid flowers, you wouldn't think so. She indicated that they would try to work with me after we got past Mothers Day madness and they were still willing to allow me all the breaks I needed, yadda, yadda, yadda for now.

I'm scared they are just jollying me along till the busiest week is over and then will can me. For all the bellyaching I do here about the crazies I like what I do, I love the people that call in that I get to talk to who are pleasant, or heartbroken from needing funeral flowers or just really at an emotional wits end.

Wondering what my chances are that they'll cook up some reason to axe me right after the holiday? I believe I'd be able to sue but ... just freaking out.

Sorry to ramble so much, steroids are a horrible thing.

[LostMyMind]

calulu, the problem is ADA basically has a loophole of "reasonable". It's not reasonable to ask a janitor business to not use chemicals because you can't be expose to them. Also there is an issue of if the business is subjected to ADA. Not all business or jobs are subjected to ADA.

Since it's more than just breathing it in, it seems to be a "contact" issues as well. I suggest talking to the VP again, let him know that you really want to keep working for the company. Let him know that the doctor is pushing for you to go on disability and you don't want to.

However, depending on how long you've been working, even going on disability might not be an option. I believe SSDI requires that you've been working for at least 2 years and earn at least a specific amount (can't remember the amount). And your disability must prevent you from getting the same type of job that you've been doing.

As far as the suing, it's very difficult to do an ADA lawsuit. If it comes to that, get a lawyer. There are 100s of rules and paperwork that must be done correctly and in a specific time order. And if one of those papers are out of order, nothing will happen.

[calulu]

As far as the suing, it's very difficult to do an ADA lawsuit. If it comes to that, get a lawyer. There are 100s of rules and paperwork that must be done correctly and in a specific time order. And if one of those papers are out of order, nothing will happen.

Actually, it's not that hard. I have a pending lawsuit against my last employer for the same ADA violation. I merely asked that they not use aerosols within twenty feet of my office, easily doable. They agreed, ignored my written request and promptly violated it a month later before firing me for missing too many days of work in the aftermath. The US Justice dept is handling that lawsuit, they are my attorney and they are telling me it's an open and shut case that I will win easily. The rules are pretty cut and dried on what has to be complied with, if it's reasonable. Reasonable would be allowing me to be a home agent.

And I've been working for almost 28 years now with a few small periods of unemployment due to health issues and having babies. I have worked lots of quarters, I qualify for SSI. But I like working, this is going to be hard regardless of what happens.