Laws regarding work and RA? | Arthritis Information

Has anyone run into a situation where their manager is being a bit discriminatory because they have so many dr. appts, or miss work here and there because of flares? Does anyone know if there are any laws protecting employees with disabilitys?

She is taking away my early work hours partly due to my dr visits, missing work etc. I am able to get home at a decent time working early to be with my family and make appts those days, now they are being taken from me.

She states she gives people that goes through "life changing events" 3 months to get stable. Ra has no time line. I am so frustrated right now.

whoa.. that doesn't sound right to me.. I'm not up on all the laws and procedures when it comes to disabilities and work... but, that just sounds like she's being unfair..

I hope someone (and I'm sure there will be) comes forth w/ more information for you.

Til, then, My best wishes

the Americans with Disabilities Act as well as the Family and Medical Leave Act both cover workplace situations if there are enough employees.

Thanks Buckeye, I'll check those out.THere are also disability attorneys. I don't know if the Arthritis Foundation has any referrals or not. A disabiity law firm of Disability Center at a Law School might. THere is one at Loyola Law School here in L.A.

Good luck.

Jan

Here's a couple of sites that may help explain your rights. They may or may not apply to you - depends on employer size. 50 employees for FMLA, 15 employees for ADA - Some exceptions may apply, so you'll want to check the fact sheets. Check with your HR contact as well - even if you don't qualify for either program, I would think that your company policy would prohibit some of these behaviors.

http://www.dol.gov/dol/topic/benefits-leave/fmla.htm

http://www.ada.gov/workta.pdf

http://www.ada.gov/cguide.pdf

I was about to be fired because I had missed so much work, they had me register with FMLA. I haven't had to miss worki since them but if I do I am supposed to call FMLA and let them know. I had a really hard time getting registered though, they wanted my doctor to put down how long he thought I would be sick, with RA there's just no way to tell. After several emails between FMLA and me they finally told me to tell him to just put something down and we could change the dates if needed.OH yeah..... I'm a nurse and just changed to what we call the Baylor program, basically I work two twelve hour shifts on Saturday and Sunday and I am considered full time and get to keep my benefits and get paid the same amount as if I were working three days a week, actually a lil more :) [QUOTE=buckeye] the Americans with Disabilities Act as well as the Family and Medical Leave Act both cover workplace situations if there are enough employees.

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I had this situation at work with too many appt. and time out due t o health issues. my superviser started to complain in the staff meetings about too much lost work time etc. and we were asked to schedule, when possible our dr. appt around our work hours before or after work . How in the world can you get a Dr. appt if you work a 9 to 5. Anyways you can qualify for FMLA if you have 1250 hours worked prior to needing it.

Here is some info I was able to find concerning FMLA and Employee with disabilities

http://www.nfib.com/object/IO_23699.html

http://www.ada.gov/cguide.htm

Best of luck to you in your situation. [QUOTE=wendyr] OH yeah..... I'm a nurse and just changed to what we call the Baylor program, basically I work two twelve hour shifts on Saturday and Sunday and I am considered full time and get to keep my benefits and get paid the same amount as if I were working three days a week, actually a lil more :)[/QUOTE]

Wendyr, that is the baylor program? Is this specific to your employer? I would love the option of reducing my shifts if I become unable to do it without losing my benefits. I would love more information on this.

Thanks everyone. I will make sure and read up so if anything else comes up I'll know how to respond. Momof3: I agree, that's the hardest part when you work 8-5...there are NO dr. appts available before 8 or after 5! The RA docs especially are busy so you have to take what they offer or you wont see them for months! Wendr: That is great about the Baylor program, It probably really helps with a lot of things!!! Is the Balor program for nurses only?

Kelly