MS and my job- in a bad spot..What to do?

[westerngirl]

I saw a neurologist last week and highly suspects I have this. Going to do further testing. My symptoms started in December out of nowhere and are severe. They come and go. I was hospitalized for 2 days, and in January, it was so bad, I was out on approved medical leave for 3 weeks. Now, I have been on a leave again since March 3rd. It looks like I will be gone until early May.

I am also a single mother to a 5 year old boy who is autistic and also has a history of seizures and cp.

The reason I am asking this is because I work in a call center for a big company, great company, and you are required to work at least 1 weekend day a month. I normally work 4x10's; however, due to my symptoms, I am on a medical leave, most likely until end of April. I qualify for fmla next month. Shift bid is coming up in a few weeks. I am going to try and get a 5- 8 hour shift again for when I return. Too much working 10 hour days. I know I will not have the
weekends off.

The reason for my post is when I am released to return to work, I can also use the ADA act for accomodations- work schedule, etc. I am in no way trying to milk the system, or want to rock the boat, but with the situation I am in, I am
trying to get out of working weekends. What are some of the reasons I could present to my dr when he completes the paperwork to be able to accomplish what I want? FMLA does not require employers to change your work schedule.

I need to be able to take care of my own health issues as well as help my little boy with his own health care and have a quality of life together with weekends off. Before all this came up with my own, we have NO time together, a lot of
things besides a life. I will eventually try and go to another department that does not require working weekends but until then, I need to get them off. I hope this does not sound bad on my part but I know for fact if I ask them to just
change it to weekdays only they will not do it- not a business need.

I need to take care of myself, to take care of my son, and to get to work and still be successful without being singled out for promotions, lateral moves, all that.

My company's 3rd party claims administrator will be calling me next week, to see how it is going and to give me the determination for my leave. They told me I should be approved. When they call, should I disclose I saw a neurologist who suspects I may have MS or wait until my anniversary on the 18th of April and call them back(will still be on leave) and then drop the bomb? The 18th will be my 1 year anniversary and my medical leave would convert automatically to FMLA. I need to protect myself and my job.

What do I do? FYI_ I am not applying for FMLA for my son until this is resolved and I have returned to work.

[Redwings]

Hi westerngirl:
The best advice I can give you is to consult an employment rights attorney, because the programs you want to use all have legal ins and outs. Your employer has at least one attorney; you should have one, too.

There are at least a couple of posters here who have backgrounds in Human Resources. I'll defer to their knowledge about most of the questions you asked. However, when I was in management, I had the benefit of corporate legal counsel, and this is what applied then (10+ year ago). The FMLA has been revised since then.

Loose lips sink ships. NEVER, EVER reveal any detail of your medical or private life that can't be used to get something you want. Otherwise, it can and will be used against you. You must reveal medical documentation for your requests, but you may not be required to reveal the details. That means that you have to document a medical need for a request based on function, but you may not be required to reveal that MS is the disease behind the request.

Based on that, do NOT reveal that you saw a neurologist. Do NOT reveal anything that your neuro only suspects. A list of medical differentials is NOT a diagnosis or a medical justification for anything. It will be just a messy list of things that can be used against you later, even though most of them will turn out to be nonfactual/nonapplicable. Once things are out, you can't put them back, or "disappear" them with erase, erase erase!

Your doctor CAN document functional conditions and proposed solutions (e.g., that you have fatigue that limits the length of your work day or that you have a physical issue that requires special work station/office equipment) without citing a specific condition. (Someone else, please correct me if I'm wrong here.)

As an aspect of function, the length of a work day has medical implications, so there is rationale for requesting an 8- or 6- or 4-hour day instead of a 10-hour day.

However, disability is not determined by the day of the week, so there is no medical/disability rationale for not working a specific day of the week under the ADA. You can't be too disabled to work on Saturday but not on Friday. If you can physically do a job on Monday, you can physically do the same job on Saturday or Sunday. So, unless things have changed since my day, good luck in getting weekends off under the ADA if weekend work is normally required for anyone doing the same job you do. There is nothing your doctor can do to make you medically unable to work on a weekend.

So if the FMLA doesn't require a change in work schedule, you may be SOL for getting out of weekend work. The ADA provides accommodations to allow you to continue to do your job. It doesn't give you preferential days off for personal reasons.

As far as your employer's "good will" goes, you'll be hard-pressed to prove that your need for quality time with your son on weekends is any more important than any other employees' need for quality with their families on weekends. They also have kids with autism and ADHD and cancer and on and on...

You might be able to secure one of the weekend days off for religious reasons. But it will be only one of the days, unless you can find and convert to a religion that claims both Saturday and Sunday as unworkable Sabbaths.

I'm not familiar with the 2008 update to the FMLA. But one detail you might need to pay attention to is, if your work hours are reduced under the ADA, check to make sure that you're still working enough hours to qualify for the FMLA.

Again, these are details that require a timely legal interpretation. But I'm giving you a heads-up of the possibilities based on legal interpretations I used to work under. Good luck!

[MSW1963]

westerngirl, the advice posted by Redwings recommending you consult with an employment rights attorney is spot on.

Your local chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society can refer you to an ADA attorney. Most are versed on legal aspects of benefits eligibility to assist you in maintaining or meeting benefits eligibility requirements, although that may vary depending on the attorney's experience and training. If not, get a referral to a benefits attorney.

Co's are likely to be more sympethatic to employee's with longer tenure than your's. Few employers look forward to LTD or medical claims for life for employees who have yet to meet their first year employment anniversary date.

Become familiar with eligibility and waiting periods for benefits and continue working as long as possible, sx's permitting. Take advantage of any supplemental insurance offers that don't require a medical history/proof of insurability. Particularly Life insurance and/or increases in coverage offered at annual anniversary dates or open enrollment, through your employer because your ability to aquire coverage in the future will likely be diminished after this medical workup, even without a dx.

I hope your sx's resolve soon and the best of luck to you.

[dstreett57]

Do you qualify for long term disability benefits at your job? If you do, you might be putting them in jeopardy by taking FLMA and asking for ADA accommodations. The law is supposed to prevent this, but many times it is ineffective. You end up getting 'let go' in a 'general layoff'. You need to be very careful. Try to consult an ERISA lawyer if possible. That's the law that governs your company's Long Term disability benefits. Good luck.