ADA (long) Job Accommodation

[kd3656]

What is the name of your state?What is the name of your state? Michigan


There is much more to this ADA Job Accommodation subject but this is too long already. I would appreciate any guidance you have to offer.


My sister has 20 years of service as a non-management bargained for union employee of a major corporation. She was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis six years ago. Her condition has rapidly deteriorated with in the past year, which forced her on a disability leave of one year, she returned to work on May 29, 2005. This was her only disability during 20 years of service. Her job performance and attendance have been rated acceptable during the entire 20 years of employment and have remained so since her return to work five months ago. She also earned an associates degree in a company sponsored college degree program prior to the disability. Before her return to work from the disability leave, the company offered her a very generous disability retirement and benefits package. She is only 41 and will qualify for her full pension and benefits in ten years. She decided not to take the disability retirement offer and returned to work. My sister returned to work with very limited mobility and is wheelchair bound. She is fully capable of performing the essential functions of the job.

I am a current employee of 32 years service with the same employer. My sister and I report to the same work location, same job titles, similar job responsibilities, different departments under the same Network Services District Manager. We coordinate ourwork hours and vacation time so that I can drive us both to work and assist her with building access and building navigation. There is no handicapped access to the building.There are no handicapped accessible restroom doors in the entire 17 floor building. The entry door to her work area is code locked and not handicap accessible. There are fire doors through out the building that are occasionally closed. Multiple Sclerosis causes my sister’s strength to be rapidly depleted. If she exerts her arms too much by maneuvering her manual wheelchair her job performance could be affected by causing her typing, mouse control and general computer skills to be affected, as a result I coordinate my breaks so I can take her to the restroom, get her items from the cafeteria, heat her food etc …

This has been very difficult for both of us. She is located on the 15th floor and I on the 6th floor which causes us not to be able to take advantage of our full break periods, she often obtains from drinking the large amounts of water recommended by her doctor (MS related kidney infections) and does not call me to take her to the restroom outside of normal break periods when she should due to the distance and inconvenience to me. Being in different work groups also causes us to be on different work and vacation schedules, I have to arrive one half hour early and she has to stay one half hour after her tour of duty. We consistently have cancel and reschedule vacation days through out the year in order to coordinate them.

In order to secure mobility assistance and assure work and vacation schedule coordination. Two months ago my sister made an ADA job accommodation request for a lateral transfer to my department, citing the above reasons to the company’s job accommodations team. The job accommodations representative has told her that she should talk to her boss and given her excuses such as she should get a scooter, her request could not be granted because she and I are in the same building, offered to move her terminal to my floor away from her work group and she could do her job from there. My sister declined explaining that being isolated from her work group would severely affect her job performance. They also keep saying that they do not have enough medical information no specifics, they have six months of medical records, her doctor’s letter of recommendation and they are the department that offered her disability retirement. We have made them aware that there are two openings in my department and we feel that they are stalling until they can fill them.

Thank You,
Kathy

[mlane58]

Originally Posted by kd3656

What is the name of your state?What is the name of your state? Michigan


There is much more to this ADA Job Accommodation subject but this is too long already. I would appreciate any guidance you have to offer.


My sister has 20 years of service as a non-management bargained for union employee of a major corporation. She was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis six years ago. Her condition has rapidly deteriorated with in the past year, which forced her on a disability leave of one year, she returned to work on May 29, 2005. This was her only disability during 20 years of service. Her job performance and attendance have been rated acceptable during the entire 20 years of employment and have remained so since her return to work five months ago. She also earned an associates degree in a company sponsored college degree program prior to the disability. Before her return to work from the disability leave, the company offered her a very generous disability retirement and benefits package. She is only 41 and will qualify for her full pension and benefits in ten years. She decided not to take the disability retirement offer and returned to work. My sister returned to work with very limited mobility and is wheelchair bound. She is fully capable of performing the essential functions of the job.

I am a current employee of 32 years service with the same employer. My sister and I report to the same work location, same job titles, similar job responsibilities, different departments under the same Network Services District Manager. We coordinate ourwork hours and vacation time so that I can drive us both to work and assist her with building access and building navigation. There is no handicapped access to the building.There are no handicapped accessible restroom doors in the entire 17 floor building. The entry door to her work area is code locked and not handicap accessible. There are fire doors through out the building that are occasionally closed. Multiple Sclerosis causes my sister’s strength to be rapidly depleted. If she exerts her arms too much by maneuvering her manual wheelchair her job performance could be affected by causing her typing, mouse control and general computer skills to be affected, as a result I coordinate my breaks so I can take her to the restroom, get her items from the cafeteria, heat her food etc …

This has been very difficult for both of us. She is located on the 15th floor and I on the 6th floor which causes us not to be able to take advantage of our full break periods, she often obtains from drinking the large amounts of water recommended by her doctor (MS related kidney infections) and does not call me to take her to the restroom outside of normal break periods when she should due to the distance and inconvenience to me. Being in different work groups also causes us to be on different work and vacation schedules, I have to arrive one half hour early and she has to stay one half hour after her tour of duty. We consistently have cancel and reschedule vacation days through out the year in order to coordinate them.

In order to secure mobility assistance and assure work and vacation schedule coordination. Two months ago my sister made an ADA job accommodation request for a lateral transfer to my department, citing the above reasons to the company’s job accommodations team. The job accommodations representative has told her that she should talk to her boss and given her excuses such as she should get a scooter, her request could not be granted because she and I are in the same building, offered to move her terminal to my floor away from her work group and she could do her job from there. My sister declined explaining that being isolated from her work group would severely affect her job performance. They also keep saying that they do not have enough medical information no specifics, they have six months of medical records, her doctor’s letter of recommendation and they are the department that offered her disability retirement. We have made them aware that there are two openings in my department and we feel that they are stalling until they can fill them.

Thank You,
Kathy

Nice story, but was there a question in there?

[seniorjudge]

Originally Posted by kd3656

What is the name of your state?What is the name of your state? Michigan


There is much more to this ADA Job Accommodation subject but this is too long already. I would appreciate any guidance you have to offer.


My sister has 20 years of service as a non-management bargained for union employee of a major corporation. She was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis six years ago. Her condition has rapidly deteriorated with in the past year, which forced her on a disability leave of one year, she returned to work on May 29, 2005. This was her only disability during 20 years of service. Her job performance and attendance have been rated acceptable during the entire 20 years of employment and have remained so since her return to work five months ago. She also earned an associates degree in a company sponsored college degree program prior to the disability. Before her return to work from the disability leave, the company offered her a very generous disability retirement and benefits package. She is only 41 and will qualify for her full pension and benefits in ten years. She decided not to take the disability retirement offer and returned to work. My sister returned to work with very limited mobility and is wheelchair bound. She is fully capable of performing the essential functions of the job.

I am a current employee of 32 years service with the same employer. My sister and I report to the same work location, same job titles, similar job responsibilities, different departments under the same Network Services District Manager. We coordinate ourwork hours and vacation time so that I can drive us both to work and assist her with building access and building navigation. There is no handicapped access to the building.There are no handicapped accessible restroom doors in the entire 17 floor building. The entry door to her work area is code locked and not handicap accessible. There are fire doors through out the building that are occasionally closed. Multiple Sclerosis causes my sister’s strength to be rapidly depleted. If she exerts her arms too much by maneuvering her manual wheelchair her job performance could be affected by causing her typing, mouse control and general computer skills to be affected, as a result I coordinate my breaks so I can take her to the restroom, get her items from the cafeteria, heat her food etc …

This has been very difficult for both of us. She is located on the 15th floor and I on the 6th floor which causes us not to be able to take advantage of our full break periods, she often obtains from drinking the large amounts of water recommended by her doctor (MS related kidney infections) and does not call me to take her to the restroom outside of normal break periods when she should due to the distance and inconvenience to me. Being in different work groups also causes us to be on different work and vacation schedules, I have to arrive one half hour early and she has to stay one half hour after her tour of duty. We consistently have cancel and reschedule vacation days through out the year in order to coordinate them.

In order to secure mobility assistance and assure work and vacation schedule coordination. Two months ago my sister made an ADA job accommodation request for a lateral transfer to my department, citing the above reasons to the company’s job accommodations team. The job accommodations representative has told her that she should talk to her boss and given her excuses such as she should get a scooter, her request could not be granted because she and I are in the same building, offered to move her terminal to my floor away from her work group and she could do her job from there. My sister declined explaining that being isolated from her work group would severely affect her job performance. They also keep saying that they do not have enough medical information no specifics, they have six months of medical records, her doctor’s letter of recommendation and they are the department that offered her disability retirement. We have made them aware that there are two openings in my department and we feel that they are stalling until they can fill them.

Thank You,
Kathy

cut in half
leave out editorials
ask three questions

[kd3656]

At the time of her job accommodation request my sister did not know that:

As a result of downsizing, there are surplus employees that were to fill currently vacant positions at location x, with in 35 miles of their terminated work location. A 35 mile radius is the acceptable relocation limit per contractual agreement. Because some of the surplus employees homes are located beyond 35 miles from location x, the company arranged for two volunteers from my department to fill the location x jobs in order to accommodate the surplus employee’s driving distance.

The solution seemed simple, one surplus employee could fill my sister's position and my sister and the other surplus employee could fill the two positions in my department. Yesterday my sister received a call while on the job from the Network Services Vice President. He insinuated that she was using her disability to acquire a transfer out of seniority,he told her there were just three options, 1) her terminal could be moved to my floor (isolated from her work group), 2) my terminal could be moved to her floor (I would be isolated from my work group) or I could transfer to her work group (seniority violation). I am worried that there is a lot more to this than we know and I don't know how far these people will go to get their way.

My sister is already being ignored and harassed, I am afraid that we could both loose our jobs and would appreciate any thoughts that you have to offer as to how we should deal with this mammoth corporation.

Regards,
Kathy

[seniorjudge]

Q: My sister is already being ignored and harassed, I am afraid that we could both loose our jobs and would appreciate any thoughts that you have to offer as to how we should deal with this mammoth corporation.

A: There are just three options, 1) her terminal could be moved to your floor (isolated from her work group), 2) your terminal could be moved to
her floor (you would be isolated from your work group) or you could transfer to her work group (seniority violation).