Hi desparateofficegirl,

I have one suggestion that I will make regardless of what other people think of it.

The ADA Act enables employees with disabilities to have reasonable accommodations made to their job so that they can perform their duties even though they have a disability.

Two criteria exist for determining whether an employee fits the definition: her disability must be known or perceived by her employer and making the reasonable accommodation must not create an undue hardship on the running of the employer's business.

The slight dilemma you face is whether your employer can make an accommodation that was not requested by the co-worker.

This solution that comes to mind is having your co-worker reassigned to a desk that is farther away from you and the other employees if that is physically possible where you work.

Your inability to do your job because of the perceived symptoms your co-worker is experiencing on her job to me are proof that she is creating an undue hardship on the running of your employer's business.

So regardless of whether she has the right to reasonable accommodations I believe a reasonable accommodation must be made not necessarily for her sake but for the sake of your own productivity and the bottom line of the business you work at.

The ADA Act (Americans with Disabilities Act) does not guarantee a job to people who are symptomatic whose symptoms are not under control while they are at work. 

It only guarantees that they can have modifications made to their job (like having an office in a quieter location or receiving work requests in writing instead of verbally and a whole host of other accommodations) if these accommodations would help them perform the duties of their job.

Your boss possibly wants to be sensitive to your co-worker but your supervisor is obviously blind to the fact [and it is a fact] that her behavior is unacceptable in the workplace when it gets to the point where it disrupts getting any work done-either her work or your work.

If she cannot be reassigned to another location and your reputation in your firm will not be tarnished by doing this I suggest you could ask to have your desk moved.

I am going to get a lot of flak for having said what I did about your co-worker having symptoms at work and verbally fighting with the voices.  I'm sure a lot of people diagnosed with schizophrenia will tell me that your co-worker has the right to remain employed there because her talking to the voices is a coping skill for her to deal with them.

I say this is isn't so: her symptoms are not under control if every day [and I mean every day] she's arguing with the voices in her cubicle.

I was diagnosed with schizophrenia when I was 22 and I did not enter the workforce until three years later when I achieved a level of recovery commensurate with my ability to hold down a job.

Regards,

Christina