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Thankfully my workplace is very accomodating
Elizabeth Wakefield
Wednesday, June 24, 2009 at 08:20 PMre: Thankfully my workplace is very accomodating
Megan Oltman
Thursday, June 25, 2009 at 09:12 AMThat's a great approach, Elizabeth, and a great piece of advice for anyone in a position to follow it. One of the crucial issues will be to decide when to talk about Migraine disease. If you wait until it has already become a severe problem for your job perfomance, it will be hard to keep the emotion out of it and hard to show the kind of positive results from accommodations that you are talking about.
re: re: Thankfully my workplace is very accomodating
Elizabeth Wakefield
Thursday, June 25, 2009 at 11:08 AMWell, also I'm a CPA so facts and results approach comes more naturally to me. I have to prepare to be non-emotional for the meetings that we still have while my pain is severe. I prepare a schedule and an outline of what we are going to discuss and that helps me follow that rather than my emotions. Plus I see a therapist once a week for dealing with my chronic pain and I discuss with her how I'm going to approach it and we role-play so I'm prepared to keep emotion out of it. The first role play I don't do very well, but practicing helps with a professional. If you don't have that then role play with your friends/family/support group and get their take on how you come across. I just know the boss cares more about his/her bottom line so you have to come at it from their perspective. Sad but true.
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FMLA and ADA
Lisa
Monday, July 06, 2009 at 09:53 PMI believe the situation that you are referring to in this article is mine. The struggles over the past few years with my work and migraines have been exhausting. And this for a job I absolutely LOVE. I finally feel like someone is listening!! Thank you so much. I wish I could have found out more about ADA when they tried transferring me. I would have done things different and I would not have used up my FMLA. Anyway, thank you again and keep the information coming. I believe that helps a deal. It gives me hope in my own situation to know that what I was fighting for and am still fighting for is attainable.
Lisa
re: FMLA and ADA
Anonymous
Monday, September 21, 2009 at 03:46 PMSO ARE YOU SAYING IF YOU NOTIFY EMPLOYER IT IS A DISABILITY ONE DOES NOT HAVE TO SUCK UP VAC, SICK, COMP,FMLA AND FEAR ANOTHER TERMINTION AND GRIEVANCE CASE? FOR ACTUALY TWO DISABILITIES.
re: re: FMLA and ADA
Megan Oltman
Monday, September 21, 2009 at 06:13 PMDear Anonymous -
It sounds like you've been down this road before - sorry to hear it! Unfortunately with FMLA your employer can require you to use up paid leave before taking FMLA leave. The Department of Labor's FMLA FAQ's give a little more information on this.
Ont he other hand with ADA, if you notify your employer of your disabilities and ask for accommodations to help you perform your job, and if they can grant the accommodations without harming the organization, they do have to accommodate you. The catch, though, is that they aren't required to give time off as an accommodation. This sharepost on Rights under the ADA might help clear up what they're required to do.
Good luck to you!
- Megan
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I have stated in my own blog that my work place is very accomodating to me and I am very lucky and know it because I've heard these horror stories before. Before my migraines got so severe to be daily, I had open conversations with work about my migraines as a disorder. I also am a valued employee and approached the conversation from a business perspective rather than emotional or something I needed. I talked about how they were most able to get the most value out of me. My doctor wrote a letter as well indicating what hours I could work, etc. My work has allowed me good accomodations - an inside office where I can leave the lights off and I can where my sunglasses if I go elsewhere. And now more recently have allowed me to work from home. I showed them that my productivity increased significantly - with numbers and facts - when I worked from home and then asked to work from home 3 days a week. The president came back with "work from home all the time and just come in for meetings." This is because I was able to show them logically and with facts that I was more of an asset to them if they accomodated my migraine disorder than if they didn't. I didn't approach it from an emotional level describing my pain and how hard it was for me. I am grateful for my employers' handling of my situation and feel for those that don't have that.