Involuntary unpaid leave due to disability

[La Oceane]

I have two significant medical conditions: bipolar disorder NOS and low muscle tone on my right side. A few incidents arose last month which disrupted my workplace: I experienced hysterical episodes due to the bipolar disorder, and I fell on the ground, as a result of my muscle weakness. When I fell, I was unable to get myself up, and I needed the assistance of others. This stressful incident exacerbated my mental health issues, and I began to laugh and cry uncontrollably. My employer placed placed me on a four-month unpaid leave in response to this episode, explaining that my balance problems and hysterical incidents are distracting to both coworkers and the clients that we serve. I understand that these problems are disruptive to my coworkers, who often have to assuage my hysterical episodes or physically assist me when I fall down. However, these issues had never directly interfered with my ability to provide services to our clients. I was told that it was inevitable they would surface during a session with a client. At my job, I am always in a sitting position when I work with clients, so the chance that I would lose my balance is very low. The majority of these muscle lapse episodes occurred when I was walking around in the break room getting tea, filing papers, cleaning up, etc., so I had very little reason to believe my balance problems would suddenly disrupt my sessions with our clients, as we always are positioned at a desk. Interestingly, the majority of my hysterical episodes followed these balance issues (as a response to stress), so based on my past pattern of hysterical incidents, it seemed unlikely that they would surface during a meeting with a client. Regardless, I was told that I would not be permitted to work until mid-winter. I asked if I would be allowed to return early with a clearance from my doctor, documentation that I was on medication for bipolar disorder, and evidence I was participating in occupational therapy for my muscular issues, but it was made clear that I would have to wait until the four months was over.

Since I have been medicated, I have not experienced any hysterical episodes, so it is frustrating that I am not allowed to work. I want to return to work as soon as possible since my mental health issues have largely been resolved. My supervisors were concerned that I was too emotionally imbalanced to work, hence why they ordered that I take four months off, but since I am now mentally stable, am I allowed to return under the ADA?

While my balance issues continue to remain a challenge, is it legal that I am prohibited from working due to the falling episodes? Motor coordination is not a requirement for my job, since most of my work takes place sitting at a desk. I understand that my falling episodes may prove frustrating for my coworkers who have to help me off of the ground, but regardless, isn't the ADA designed to cover situations like this? I will fully admit that my balance problems disrupt my workplace, but they have not prevented me from performing the duties of my position.

 

[quincy]

I have two significant medical conditions: bipolar disorder NOS and low muscle tone on my right side. A few incidents arose last month which disrupted my workplace: I experienced hysterical episodes due to the bipolar disorder, and I fell on the ground, as a result of my muscle weakness. When I fell, I was unable to get myself up, and I needed the assistance of others. This stressful incident exacerbated my mental health issues, and I began to laugh and cry uncontrollably. My employer placed placed me on a four-month unpaid leave in response to this episode, explaining that my balance problems and hysterical incidents are distracting to both coworkers and the clients that we serve. I understand that these problems are disruptive to my coworkers, who often have to assuage my hysterical episodes or physically assist me when I fall down. However, these issues had never directly interfered with my ability to provide services to our clients. I was told that it was inevitable they would surface during a session with a client. At my job, I am always in a sitting position when I work with clients, so the chance that I would lose my balance is very low. The majority of these muscle lapse episodes occurred when I was walking around in the break room getting tea, filing papers, cleaning up, etc., so I had very little reason to believe my balance problems would suddenly disrupt my sessions with our clients, as we always are positioned at a desk. Interestingly, the majority of my hysterical episodes followed these balance issues (as a response to stress), so based on my past pattern of hysterical incidents, it seemed unlikely that they would surface during a meeting with a client. Regardless, I was told that I would not be permitted to work until mid-winter. I asked if I would be allowed to return early with a clearance from my doctor, documentation that I was on medication for bipolar disorder, and evidence I was participating in occupational therapy for my muscular issues, but it was made clear that I would have to wait until the four months was over.

Since I have been medicated, I have not experienced any hysterical episodes, so it is frustrating that I am not allowed to work. I want to return to work as soon as possible since my mental health issues have largely been resolved. My supervisors were concerned that I was too emotionally imbalanced to work, hence why they ordered that I take four months off, but since I am now mentally stable, am I allowed to return under the ADA?

While my balance issues continue to remain a challenge, is it legal that I am prohibited from working due to the falling episodes? Motor coordination is not a requirement for my job, since most of my work takes place sitting at a desk. I understand that my falling episodes may prove frustrating for my coworkers who have to help me off of the ground, but regardless, isn't the ADA designed to cover situations like this? I will fully admit that my balance problems disrupt my workplace, but they have not prevented me from performing the duties of my position.

What is the name of your state?

 

[La Oceane]

What is the name of your state?

Pennsylvania

 

[Proserpina]

I have two significant medical conditions: bipolar disorder NOS and low muscle tone on my right side. A few incidents arose last month which disrupted my workplace: I experienced hysterical episodes due to the bipolar disorder, and I fell on the ground, as a result of my muscle weakness. When I fell, I was unable to get myself up, and I needed the assistance of others. This stressful incident exacerbated my mental health issues, and I began to laugh and cry uncontrollably. My employer placed placed me on a four-month unpaid leave in response to this episode, explaining that my balance problems and hysterical incidents are distracting to both coworkers and the clients that we serve. I understand that these problems are disruptive to my coworkers, who often have to assuage my hysterical episodes or physically assist me when I fall down. However, these issues had never directly interfered with my ability to provide services to our clients. I was told that it was inevitable they would surface during a session with a client. At my job, I am always in a sitting position when I work with clients, so the chance that I would lose my balance is very low. The majority of these muscle lapse episodes occurred when I was walking around in the break room getting tea, filing papers, cleaning up, etc., so I had very little reason to believe my balance problems would suddenly disrupt my sessions with our clients, as we always are positioned at a desk. Interestingly, the majority of my hysterical episodes followed these balance issues (as a response to stress), so based on my past pattern of hysterical incidents, it seemed unlikely that they would surface during a meeting with a client. Regardless, I was told that I would not be permitted to work until mid-winter. I asked if I would be allowed to return early with a clearance from my doctor, documentation that I was on medication for bipolar disorder, and evidence I was participating in occupational therapy for my muscular issues, but it was made clear that I would have to wait until the four months was over.

Since I have been medicated, I have not experienced any hysterical episodes, so it is frustrating that I am not allowed to work. I want to return to work as soon as possible since my mental health issues have largely been resolved. My supervisors were concerned that I was too emotionally imbalanced to work, hence why they ordered that I take four months off, but since I am now mentally stable, am I allowed to return under the ADA?

While my balance issues continue to remain a challenge, is it legal that I am prohibited from working due to the falling episodes? Motor coordination is not a requirement for my job, since most of my work takes place sitting at a desk. I understand that my falling episodes may prove frustrating for my coworkers who have to help me off of the ground, but regardless, isn't the ADA designed to cover situations like this? I will fully admit that my balance problems disrupt my workplace, but they have not prevented me from performing the duties of my position.

Have you actually found out that your condition is covered under the ADA? It's not automatic. And have you requested specific accommodations?

 

[cbg]

At least one court (7th Circuit) has ruled that an involuntary leave is NOT a violation of the ADA.

 

[La Oceane]

Have you actually found out that your condition is covered under the ADA? It's not automatic. And have you requested specific accommodations?

Yes, I would meet the ADA criteria for a disability with my conditions. In regards to accommodations, I was not given a chance to request them--I was automatically told I needed to go on leave, and that it was non-negotiable. It was made clear to me there was no way that I could return until the four months are up.

 

[Proserpina]

Yes, I would meet the ADA criteria for a disability with my conditions. In regards to accommodations, I was not given a chance to request them--I was automatically told I needed to go on leave, and that it was non-negotiable. It was made clear to me there was no way that I could return until the four months are up.

ADA protection is not automatic. IIRC you do actually need to request accommodations.

 

[La Oceane]

ADA protection is not automatic. IIRC you do actually need to request accommodations.

Now that I am on leave, if I requested accommodations (to help me return to work early), and these accommodations were denied, what would be the status of my situation?

 

[cbg]

That would depend. What accommodations are you anticipating requesting?

 

[La Oceane]

That would depend. What accommodations are you anticipating requesting?

Now that my hysteria issue has been resolved, I don't anticipate needing many accommodations for my bipolar disorder, but as a precautionary measure, I may ask that I be allowed to leave the workplace and go to a quiet place to calm myself down, in the rare case a hysterical episode would arise. I don't see this being a problem, because plenty of people take a brief walk outside, with no ill effect.

For my balance issue, I've decided that I will ask other coworkers to assist me when I need to complete a physical task, for instance, I might ask someone else to pour me a drink so I don't spill it, and I might request that a coworker help me file papers, so I don't start wobbling and consequently drop my folders. Fortunately, filing papers is not a large component of my job, so this will cause only a few minutes' worth of inconvenience. Other than that, there are few physical components to my job other than walking to the reception area to fetch a client.

Do these accommodations sound reasonable? If I were to present them to my employer, would I be allowed to return early under the ADA?

 

[cbg]

Caveat: I am not familiar with your workplace, your organization or your resources. I cannot categorically state that something is or is not reasonable - I can only give an opinion based solely on your post. Your employer may disagree with me, and since they have access to information I do not, my opinion may or may not be valid.

I do not think that the first suggestion is unreasonable, no. That makes perfect sense to me.

However, the second one may or may not be reasonable depending on specifics unavailable to me. The EEOC has made it clear that dis-accommodating other employees is NOT reasonable. Without a much clearer picture of how these requests for co-worker assistance would affect THEM, it's not possible to state that this would be considered reasonable. Or that it wouldn't be.

BTW, I don't think it's quite as cut and dried as you seem to think that you would be covered under the ADA. There is no list of "approved conditions" which are ALWAYS covered - the only illness that it covered by the ADA simply by reason of its existence is HIV/AIDS. In ALL other cases, the situation is looked at on a case by case basis. For example, if your bi-polar disorder is controllable by medication AND you are taking your medication regularly, the ADA may not apply. There are court cases on point to that - I don't have them handy but I can find them easily enough.

Additionally, you are claiming two potential conditions. Each one would have to be looked at individually.

 

[commentator]

If you are released by a doctor to perform your usual duties, you are on leave without pay because the employer will not allow you to return to work, you need to file at once for unemployment insurance, and while you are trying to determine if you are covered by ADA, or whether your employer is obligated to let you return to work, you can be receiving some amount of unemployment benefits to cover at least some of your expenses while you are working this out. If you are fully released medically, your employer cannot keep you off work without having to pay your unemployment benefits (apart from any ADA issues) as you are out of work "through no fault of your own." File for benefits, that will help establish exactly what your medical liminations are, and exactly what your employer is trying to do here.

 

[La Oceane]

Any thoughts on this case? While our conditions may differ, I feel that I experienced discrimination in a similar manner as Jeffery Rose--my employer judged me on how they perceive my condition, rather than the present symptoms. (I received clearance from my primary care physician).

Englobal Engineering To Pay $100,000 To Settle EEOC Disability Discrimination Suit Company Fired Employee Because of False Belief He Had MS.
The Agency Charged Jeffery Rose was employed as the regional safety supervisor at ENGlobal's Beaumont facility. Soon after starting his job, he began experiencing numbness and tingling in his extremities. Rose sought medical tests to determine the cause of the symptoms. He informed his immediate supervisor, the regional safety manager, of the symptoms, his doctor's visits, and medical tests. He also told the regional safety manager that the doctors believed he may have MS. The regional safety manager was a part-time paramedic who claimed to be familiar with MS. Upon learning of the potential MS, the regional safety manager recruited someone else for Rose's position and urged him to take medical leave, telling him that MS is "very debilitating" and that he did not think the company would "want to deal with" his disease. Rose followed his supervisor's advice and took medical leave. However, when Rose obtained from his doctor full medical clearance to return to work without any restrictions, ENGlobal's human resources manager refused to honor it, stating that Rose's position was no longer available, despite the fact that it was available and remained so until the company hired someone else for the position approximately two weeks later. EEOC: "We hope this settlement sends a clear message to all employers that decision making based on myths, fears and stereotypes about physical conditions, rather than on objective analysis of a person's actual capabilities, constitutes disability discrimination and it is a violation of federal law," said EEOC Houston Regional Attorney Jim Sacher. "The ADA requires that all employees be given equal opportunity to jobs regardless of actual or perceived disabilities". http://www1.eeoc.gov/eeoc/newsroom/release/6-17-11.cfm


Here's another case where the doctor's clearance was deemed inadequate:

JES/Genie Temps to Pay $80,000 to Settle EEOC Disability Discrimination Suit
Temp Agency Effectively Terminated Employee Because of Epilepsy, Federal Agency Charged

CHICAGO – JES Personnel Consultants, Inc., doing business as Genie Temporary Service, will pay $80,000 to settle a disability discrimination lawsuit brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the agency announced today. The EEOC had charged that JES unlawfully refused to allow an employee to return to work because of his epilepsy. Genie is a temporary service agency with an office in LaSalle, Ill., that supplies employees to various client employers.

Based upon an administrative investigation managed by EEOC Chicago District Director John Rowe, JES placed the employee with Clover Technologies Group, LLC, where he unpacked and sorted ink cartridges. After he had a brief epileptic seizure on his first day of work, according to Rowe, Clover allowed him to work the rest of the day, but asked him to provide a note from his doctor authorizing him to return to work after that. The EEOC said that the employee provided the note to Genie the next day, and Genie neither advised him that the note was inadequate nor forwarded the note to Clover, but the employee was not permitted to return and was effectively terminated.

Disability discrimination violates the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The EEOC filed suit on July 28, 2011 in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process. After the suit was filed, the employee intervened in the case. (EEOC v. JES Personnel Consultants, Inc., d/b/a Genie Temporary Service, N.D. Ill. No. 11 C 5117).

The consent decree settling the suit, entered by Magistrate Judge Schenkier on Aug. 9, requires JES to pay $80,000 to the worker and his attorney.

JES recently advised the court that it was going out of business. As a result, the decree provides that if JES, or its president and owner, reestablishes an employment agency, then the re*established business shall adopt a policy to comply with the ADA. That policy, at a minimum, will (1) establish a procedure for a disabled employee to ask for an accommodation; (2) provide that if an employee seeks to return to work from a medical leave, JES may only require a medical exam if it is job-related and consistent with business necessity; and (3) provide that if JES receives a doctor’s authorization for a disabled employee to return to work and decides that the authorization is not adequate, it will advise the employee of the reasons for its decision.

“This case should be a reminder that employment agencies have obligations to comply with federal law against disability discrimination,” said the EEOC’s regional attorney for the Chicago District Office, John Hendrickson.

EEOC Supervisory Attorney Gregory Gochanour said, “Employment agencies need to promptly advise their employees if they conclude that a medical authorization does not present sufficient evidence that the employee is qualified to work. That would then allow the employee to seek further information from his or her doctor.”

The EEOC’s senior trial attorney assigned to the case, Gordon Waldron, said that the parties’ agreement to enter into the consent decree resolved the case without the delay of further pre-trial discovery and trial.

The EEOC's Chicago District Office is responsible for processing charges of discrimination and conducting agency litigation in Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa and North and South Dakota, with Area Offices in Milwaukee and Minneapolis.

The EEOC is responsible for enforcing federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. Further information about the EEOC is available on its website at www.eeoc.gov.



I was never informed why my clearance was inadequate, other than vague reasons like "we think you're not ready yet." (Bear in mind that my employer had not spent time observing me at work since I obtained the clearance, so there is no way that my supervisors could have proved that these symptoms were still interfering).

 

[cbg]

Okay.

Clearly there is only one answer you're going to be satisfied with, and I'm not convinced that it's the legally correct answer. I'm definitely not saying there is no case here, but I am just as definitely not saying there is.

So speak to an employment law attorney, and see what he has to say.

I'm not saying you're being unreasonable, or that you are wrong. On the face of what you have posted, any potential claim is weak at best. But the devil is in the details and there could be something you've left out that is definitive, in either direction. So see what an attorney in your state thinks.