frustrated

By Kim Saturday, August 28, 2010

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Hi all,

I am looking for insight and advice if anyone can offer it. I have worked in the same field for 20 years and have been at my current job for 10. I am 1 migraine away from being fired for abenteeism. My employer is well aware of my migraines and I work in the medical field. I have had migraines since I was 15 years old and I'm 40 now. This is nothing new. I usually miss 2-3 days of work a month. I love my job and want to work. I am very good at what I do and have been told so by my bosses. Do I have any protection under the ADA? Any other advice?

Best of health to you,

Kim

Comments (11) | Add comment

MigrainePuppet

8/29/10 6:38am

Hi Kim - I understand exactly how you feel and am actually in the process of filing for Intermittent FMLA Leave as a job protection measure from my job. Here is a nice article written by Megan Oltman on this site about When Migraines Make you Miss Work: Intermittent Leave under the Family Medical Leave Act.

I also have a friend who was missing too much work according to her companies very strict sick policy. She applied for and was granted Intermittent FMLA. This protection saved her job because of this medical condition she has no control over.

Good luck with your decision and obtaining Intermittent leave if you decide to go that route.

Puppet

rosie

9/ 2/10 7:00am

About 15 years ago, I consulted a lawyer about whether I could require my employer to reduce my hours to a mere 54 hours per week...I was regularly required to work 60+ hours, including occasional all-nighters, and was waking up with severe migraines 2-3 nights per week. The lawyer said that yes, migraine is covered under the ADA and I could file a disability claim. He did, however, warn against doing so...he said that having a record of having filed a disability claim could make it difficult to find future employment.

PS--I quit the job.

PPS--I work for myself now, where I can control my hours, my lighting (no fluorescents!) and nap or sleep in if I need to do so to combat a migraine. Not a feasible solution for most people, though.

babynurse no more

9/ 2/10 3:13pm

I was fired for the same reason. One of my jobs put me on fmla but that just put them on the hunt to find a reason other than migraines. Eventually I was fired from that hospital..Just recently I was fired from a different job at a temp nursing agency, however, I am able to get ssi. Not nearly the pay, and I do miss my job, but with as bad as my migraines were getting I was afraid of doing harm..

devilishangel201

9/ 3/10 8:20pm

I have migraines as well as ulcerative colitis. My HR basically put me on intermittant FMLA and it has saved my job. Otherwise, I would have been fired by now. I really need to find a work at home job. Avon is not enough to pay the bills.

Nancy Harris Bonk, Health Guide

9/ 7/10 5:37pm

Hello, and welcome to MyMigraineConnection.com!

I'm sorry you are having such trouble with your employer. This article, When Migraines Make You Miss Work: Intermittent Leave under the Family Medical Leave Act may be very helpful in your current situation. Another good article is Protecting your Rights - the Law is only the Beginning; Working with Migraines: Rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

I know this is a lot of information, so after you read it if you have any questions let me know, ok? Thank you for creating a SharePost. SharePosts are a form of blogging, and there are many things you can do with them. You can share an experience, suggest something that's helped you, use SharePosts as a Migraine and headache journal, and many other things.

We also have a discussion forum that you may want to check out. Especially if you have questions or are looking for information, you may find the interaction on the forum to be quite helpful. To get to the forum, just look for the orange box marked "Manage" and click on the Migraine Forums link. Because our forums are maintained by a third party, you'll need to register for the forum. You can use the same information you used to create your community log-in if you like. If you want to go directly to the forum, you can click HERE.

Along with your personal "My Home" page and the discussion forum, you'll find links to a great deal of helpful information on the main page of our site, http://www.MyMigraineConnection.com. Under the Find, Manage, and Connect tabs at the top of each page, you'll find a wealth of information - educational articles, tips, quizzes, workbooks, support and advocacy information, and more.

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Welcome again,

Nancy Bonk
MyMigraineConnection.com Community Manager

PS: If you receive this message from more than one of us, please excuse the overlap. Thanks!

Kim

9/ 9/10 4:59pm

Hey Kim - I too am on a intermitten FMLA plan with my employer due to my migraines. I did click on the link on a previous comment with regards to FMLA - I can't speak for your employer - but in the article provided they talk about "unpaid" FMLA leave. I am paid when I'm out using my intermitten FMLA. You are elligible, I'd talk to your hr department. Good Luck!

Teri Robert, Health Guide

9/ 9/10 11:01pm

Kim,

If you're being paid for FMLA, that's a choice your employer has made. It's not mandated by law. The leave provides that:

"The FMLA entitles eligible employees to take up to 12 workweeks of unpaid, job-protected leave in a 12-month period for specified family and medical reasons, or for any "qualifying exigency" arising out of the fact that a covered military member is on active duty, or has been notified of an impending call or order to active duty, in support of a contingency operation. The FMLA also allows eligible employees to take up to 26 workweeks of job-protected leave in a "single 12-month period" to care for a covered servicemember with a serious injury or illness."

You can find more information on the Department of Labor site in Fact Sheet #28: The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993.

Teri

Chris Z

9/10/10 1:22am

As long as I have time available, I am paid for my intermittent leave (i.e., vacation, sick, personal, etc). Once that runs out, then the rest of the time is unpaid. It also helps to have a disability policy that can give you some income if periods longer than a couple of weeks will provide. Though, my policy isn't nearly enough, right now it will pay a little less than 1/2 of my current income. It was tough when I was off that 7 months and it wasn't even 1/4 of my then income.

Alex W.

9/ 9/10 11:52pm

Also, if you have worked less than 12 months at one place, or work less than full time or work at a place that employs less than 50 people (in my state, as it varies from state to state), FMLA & ADA are completely optional for an employer.

I was let go at a job- they did say they terminated my position due to medical reasons & absenteeism due to medical issues (going to ER & ICU several times was too inconvenient for them), but I had no protection because I was there for less than a year. A year later, I received another (similar position), but was strangely forced to resign with a threat to blackball me in the field if I did not resign. As I know there are people in related fields know each other in previous places that I had worked at, I highly suspect that there has been talk about me going around in the past several years.

Unfortunately, when you live in a state that has at-will employment, there is very little you can do about the situation. The ADA does very little to help one when this happens, let alone FMLA.

As an end result- if you don't have an innate business sense & can be self-employed, basically your option is to get a part-time job with flexible hours (or can be accommodating) & file for disability & pray for the best...

Catlady

9/ 9/10 11:53pm

FMLA can be several things rather a bunch of things and the intermittent leave request you do not have to specify that! Your supervisor cannot ask you for any additional information once you have submitted all the required paperwork.

I have been dealing with the Federal Gov't with their perception of FMLA but that are wrong--I have read and read all the things that matter.

ALSO know that the Department of Labor runs the FMLA program.

you can check their website for additional information.

One thing to do to your advantage is keep record of ever single day you use..you do get 480 hours from the very first day you take of your FMLA to the next 12 months. It does not roll over so be careful. Keep records always!!

TheBelle2

9/10/10 9:08am

I know you want to keep working, I know I did! But, I was forced to go on short term disability because I couldn't be on time or finish the work day. It is hard and scary to have your whole life turned around, and thats ok to feel. I have intactable daily migraine - same one, never goes away and even had brain surgery - which didnt help. I am now on SSI disability(got it first go around!) and at times I feel like I am just a burden to my Mother, son (12) and boyfriend. Don't let the guilt make you feel that way. It took a long time to get past that, but trust in your loved ones to be there - they will be. I am a stay at home Mom now and that turned out to be a good thing since my son is ADHD and needs me. Sometimes the things that make us feel the worst turn out to be what we need. I want to go back to work, but after 12 years of the same headache, I know I can't. Please feel free to contract me if you ever need to vent, ask anything or such. We with this disease have to band together, we aren't migraine sufferers - we are migraine survivors. Take care, Bonnie

frustrated

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