RE: [IP] An Impossible Situation at Work
Tim --
Thanks for getting back to me. In no way do I think and of your comments are
rude.
Concerning the points that you brought up ... The company and I have touched
on "reasonable accommodations". They suggested public transportation and
carpooling, both of which are not possible. They are saying that my driving
should not be a problem on a bright, clear weather day. I asked them what
happens when I am in the office and an "unforcasted" storm comes in. How am
I to get home? Since I am in the office, they don't really care about how I
get home. They have also suggested that my wife drive me to work. I told
them that would mean 4 hours for my wife in the car so that I can spend 8
hours in the office. In addition, my wife suffers from PPH (Primary
Pulmonary Hypertension), so there are plenty of days where she would not be
up to this amount driving.
My job duties have not changed, and staffing levels have not changed.
My gut feeling is that someone (3 levels of management up from me) is being
a "playground bully". He said I have to come in 2 days a week, and the only
justification is that "I said so". I have tried to sit down with management
and Human Resources to have a calm, professional, business-like discussion
about this issue, and it has never happened. They have basically told me
that I have been told to be in the office 2 days a week, and they strongly
suggest that I follow that "order".
As far ADA documentation, I tried to follow the company policy for
"reasonable accommodations". I met with HR to fill out the appropriate
forms. When we finished with the forms, HR told me that I should sign the
forms, and that the process would begin. I indicated that I would like to
have my attorney review the forms before I signed them, since these forms
could have significant implications. The meeting quickly turned hostile (on
their part), and was over within 5 minutes. They would not let me take the
forms to my attorney, so the process stopped there. I may have inadvertently
caused "tensions to get high" by requesting that my attorney approve the
forms. However, I did this after I asked the question "why is my working at
home an issue after 7 years" and the response was "we can't discuss that
with you". In my mind, if they can't (or won't) discuss the reason for the
change with me, and won't let me take the forms to my attorney, they must
have something to hide.
I would very much like to take you up on your offer of putting me in touch
with people who have dealt with this issue. I am quickly running out of
ideas.
Thanks for your help and for putting up with my rambling.
Steve
-----Original Message-----
From: Tim Mattson [mailto:email @ redacted]
Sent: Sunday, June 03, 2007 12:19 am
To: email @ redacted
Subject: Re: [IP] An Impossible Situation at Work
Please do not think I am being rude as this may come across this way, I'm
just explaining from an employer side. All an employer has to do is provide
"reasonable accommodation". Is it possible, that your job duties have
changed, (though they REALLY should have made that clear), the staffing
levels have changed, or something else has changed that would make it
difficult to for an employer to let you be at home? In a perfect world, a
good company would explain difficulties they are having and try to reach
some sort of reasonable compromise, though for some companies, this is
difficult and working at home may NOT be considered such. ADA applies
regardless of whether or not you are an at will employee and if you have
informed your employer that you have some sort of disability, and provided
appropriate documentation (they should have given you something to fill out
and you of course have to provide Dr. documentation), then you should be
having a discussion about a reasonable accommodation. It's odd as you'd
think a fortune 500 company would have competent HR people, but maybe
not. Also, if you file and ADA complaint, and they terminate you, it's
clear discrimination and (and it;s very illegal to retaliate) and you'd have
a really strong case, but no job of course. If you've had no performance
issues, then they really need to be talking to you about accommodation. If
they are unwilling, you need to be talking to the EEOC. This should not
even be a fight. Either they can provide you with a reasonable solution or
they cannot. There should not be a lot of gray here. It seems like they
are unsure how to handle a situation like this.
In most states, an employer can change policies at any time without notice
or regard to existing policies, unless you are under some sort of union
collective bargaining agreement. Most handbooks will have something to that
effect in them. It would still be useful, though it may not matter much, to
find out if some sort of work at home policy has changed. If not, you'd
have a little more ammo to fight with but only a little. Good luck and I'd
be happy to put you in touch with people who have dealt with these kind of
issues extensively in the past - including legal council who will do more
that tell you it'd be interesting.
On 6/2/07, email @ redacted <email @ redacted> wrote:
>
> Have they changed their policy at work? If so, you should have been
> informed with the appropriate rule, law, etc. by them. Ask them for any
> such
> items
> that may exist. Make sure you find out how long this policy has been in
> effect. If they suddenly decided to change, they must provide all
> employees
> with
> that change and provide options. If they cannot give you a viable
> explanation, then you may have a lawsuit. If, as you say, your performance
> appraisals
> have been consistently marked as excellent, they cannot use your
> performance
> against you. Make sure you have any and all documentation they have
> provided you over the years. It doesn't make sense to me what they are
> suddenly
> asking you to change. Get your ducks in a row and fight it. Good luck and
> keep
> us posted on your progress.
>
> KC
>
>
>
> ************************************** See what's free at
> http://www.aol.com.
> .
.
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