In Which I Just Need to Whine and Vent

[Kara]

Last March, I was sitting at my desk at work. I do data entry, which is generally a low-risk work environment. But I work for USPS, and we make just enough money to keep operating and pay everyone, and our chairs are 20 years old and many are held together by thread and bubblegum. So imagine my surprise when I suddenly went from sitting upright to falling backward because the chair back popped out of place and took me with it. I managed to grab the desk to keep from falling completely backward to the floor, but in the process I tore a muscle in my back and herniated two discs in my spine, one of which is has been cuddling up next to a cluster of nerve roots ever since. After slipping a disc nearly a decade ago in a car wreck and tearing something a few years ago, I think my back has finally had enough. I've been in near constant pain ever since. Most days are manageable, but I have sporadic episodes lasting several days where I can barely manage to get out of bed. I've been in physical therapy, I've tried several pain medications, I've had an injection my spine and a couple weeks ago two injections on either side of the affected nerve cluster itself. Nothing has resulted in much success, and I was down all of last week because I couldn't even sleep for more than two hours before being in one position for too long put me in agony. Then I picked up a respiratory infection, and the coughing didn't help my pain at all.

I had a followup Thursday, and my doctor said we're done trying injections because they don't seem to be working, and he put me on a new medication that hopefully won't make me nauseous or knock me out like the last few. And then he brought up the subject of disability, which I've been trying not to think about. I can't afford to live on 60% of my income, I can barely live on 100% of my income since my fiancee isn't working right now. Plus, I don't feel disabled. Sure, I have to take it easy most days, I can only do light housework if I can even manage that much, and I can't ever get comfortable for more than a few minutes, but until now I at least had some hope that the problem would just work itself out eventually. And I know there are far worse disabilities to have, but I just hadn't considered that this could be it and the damage to my back is irreparable. The only thing holding my doctor back from making the recommendation right then and there is that he doesn't want to se me go down a "dark path" like he has seen in other cases like mine, where the label of disability and the pain consumes someone's life and they can't think of anything else. I have my fiancee, my novels, my writer's group, and my incredible support group of friends (many right here from CS) to keep me going. But it's not a step I'm willing to take right now.

And the icing on the cake is that I'm in for a major bitch-out from the powers-that-be this week, where I am sure to be facing disciplinary action for "abusing" leave. I've missed a ton of work in the last month, and it wasn't like I've been out having a great time when I was supposed to be keying the mail at work. I've got doctor's notes, but they're going to insist (again) that I get FMLA. My doctor has cautioned me against FMLA because he's seen employers manage to get out of their worker's comp cases as soon as an employee's FMLA case was approved. And while FMLA would make work happy, I need worker's comp because I couldn't possibly afford all the treatments I've already had in the last year, nor can I afford whatever happens next. Plus, my fiancee worked at the same place and her supervisor was able to get HR to cancel her FMLA, which they can apparently do at their discretion. Which is another reason they want me to get FMLA, because they can make the determination that I'm abusing it, cancel it, and fire me. They've been trying to fire me since I had the audacity to get hurt on their busted chairs, and they will never, ever stop trying to fire me as long as I work there. They already tried to suspend me last summer for attendance, but the Union was able to get it thrown out. It's not that this job is worth going through all this fighting and drama, it's that I'm probably unemployable since I'm now damaged goods and I can't afford to lose it.

On one hand, I'm not going to let management walk all over me and am not ready to admit defeat yet. On the other hand, going on disability wouldn't be ideal but would relive a great deal of stress (aside from the financial stress). Realistically, I have no idea what to do.

[Kristev]

I suggest disability. Your job has it in for you.

[csquared]

I would suggest a conversation with a legal expert to make sure you know what your right and responsibilities are. Local labor board might be able to help you.

I might also suggest talking with a lawyer. Your employer has liability here. If your are disabled, it is more than a workers comp claim.

Good luck with both the injuries and the employer.

[XCashier]

I agree with csquared; get some good legal counsel. Your workplace knew the chair was broken, they gave it a half-arsed fix and expected you to work with it instead of junking it and buying a good chair. So yes, they are liable.

[justhere]

Since you work for the USPS, aren't you covered by a union? Go to your union rep, get their assistance with this, especially if you are being disciplines for taking leave from a work-related injury.

[Food Lady]

This is your company's fault. Nail them to the wall if necessary.

[EricKei]

Talk to the union, maybe ask them to put you in touch with their lawyer and/or the labor board. Maybe you have a case for Hostile Workplace Environment?

As for Disability -- If nothing else works, go for it. Just be warned that it will take a LONG time. 2 years is a good rule of thumb for minimum, except in very rare circumstances. They auto-reject most applicants immediately, and the rest of the time is spent in appeals, usually with help from an attorney who gets a quarter of the back pay (2 years max here, no matter how long it takes to get approved). Until approval and that back pay check come in, you get diddly.

[Mikkel]

I don't know how the USAian system of disability works, but I agree, try the union, lawyer up and go with disability if nothing else helps. Your workplace must have some liability, both legally and morally.
I know something about the Danish possibilities, if nothing else, from my daughter who has a whiplash injury, but since we are a bit more socialist than you, it will probably not help .

[Kanalah]

My dad worked for the USPS for 30 years until he had to file for disability. He had arthritis in his hands, shoulders, back and hip and they refused to give them a driving route. He finally had a seizure on the backroom floor due to stress and had to be hospitalized.

It took over a year for his paperwork to get approved. Be prepared for that. Of course now my mom is suing him because she thinks she's entitled to half of the money. She's not, but she'll pitch a fit anyways.

[Kara]

Our union is pretty amazing, and I've been working with them on this since the first time management tried to write me up for attendance back in May. Nothing can be done until anyone tries to formally discipline me, which will be any day now since my supervisor told me two weeks ago that "we still need to talk" when I handed him a few doctor's notes. As soon as he does, the union will jump all over it.

I think my doctor is prepping me for the inevitable disability process, since the med is also an antidepressant and he's concerned I'll get suicidal about it like he's seen happen to other patients. At this point I just have to see what happens from here and roll with it.

[MoonCat]

Union. Labor lawyer. ASAP. Everybody needs to be on the same page. The company will try to screw you over whether you stay or leave.

I'm surprised about the FMLA. My chronically-ill CW "Betty" has papers for this and it's probably one of the major reasons she still has a job.

[Kara]

My fiancee had FMLA for her asthma, and they kept giving her problems for using it. We're in a large, open building, but mashed together in cubicles, and a lot of people can't get it through their thick skulls that coating themselves in perfume/cologne so they don't have to shower makes it hard for people with respiratory problems to breathe. She kept getting triggered over the summer between that and the heat, and had to leave early to come home for a breathing treatment because her inhalers weren't taking care of it. Then in the fall she got an upper respiratory infection that turned into pneumonia and missed a couple weeks of work. That's when she found out her supervisor had contacted HR (they're not on-site) about her "abusing" FMLA and they canceled it. She got fed up with their games, since she'd been working there for six years, and walked out. She was going to work with the union to file a medical discrimination claim with the EEOC, but she lost most of the fire to get back at them since quitting in October and at this point I doubt she'll ever get around to it.

Just a couple of nights ago, her sister (who still works there with me) overheard a supervisor convincing another employee who had FMLA for asthma and was also having trouble with everyone's perfume that it would really be in her best interest to resign. Then they celebrated getting rid of a "problem child" after she turned in her badge. I'm sure I'll be given similar advice (whenever my supervisor remembers that he wanted to yell at me), but if I go for disability it will be on my terms and not theirs.

[MoonCat]

I just copied this from a govn't site:

"It is unlawful for any employer to interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of or the attempt to exercise any right provided by the FMLA. It is also unlawful for an employer to discharge or discriminate against any individual for opposing any practice, or because of involvement in any proceeding, related to the FMLA. See Fact Sheet 77B: Protections for Individuals under the FMLA. The Wage and Hour Division is responsible for administering and enforcing the FMLA for most employees. Most federal and certain congressional employees are also covered by the law but are subject to the jurisdiction of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management or Congress. If you believe that your rights under the FMLA have been violated, you may file a complaint with the Wage and Hour Division or file a private lawsuit against your employer in court."

See, as long as you have legit papers signed by your doctor explaining that you are under care for [your medical issue], and you are eligible according to the law to use the FMLA time, then it is illegal for your employer to tell you that you can't use that time.

What they are doing is intimidating people into quitting instead of remaining on payroll and using their earned time. You may not want to go through the steps of nailing them to the wall for this, but your union SHOULD, and if they don't they are not fulfilling their legal obligations to their members.

[Kara]

For most people that work there. they either get to the point where they just don't care anymore and quit (like my fiancee), or they get coerced by their supervisors into quitting and never even consider talking to the union because they forget that management is NOT their friend and doesn't give a damn about anyone's best interest but their own.

[MoonCat]

For most people that work there. they either get to the point where they just don't care anymore and quit (like my fiancee), or they get coerced by their supervisors into quitting and never even consider talking to the union because they forget that management is NOT their friend and doesn't give a damn about anyone's best interest but their own.

I've seen that happen. As a steward, I've had instances where I feel like I just didn't do enough, but the fact is we don''t always win.