TSA Employee with MS

[sniperpr1]

I have worked for the federal government (specifically TSA) for 11 years and this year I've been diagnosed with MS. It has become quite difficult to do things as I normally did. I haven't disclose the condition yet.

My doctor tells me to seek reasonable accommodation, but I talked to the union vice-president at work and he tells me that someone else at work was diagnosed with the condition and there was no reasonable accommodation that could be granted given her condition and she was retired.

Given this, I'd like to know if someone knows whether I can keep my health insurance if I am forced to retire due to disability. I have been told by union representatives that in some circumstances I can. I tried to google this info, but I don't undertand the rules so I'd like to know in simple terms.

his is my main concern. Even if I have to retire, what worries me is Health Insurance. I would greatly appreciate it if someone who knows would tell me this. Thanks.

** Moderator's note - Post broken into paragraphs for easier reading. Many people with MS have visual difficulties that prevent them from reading large blocks of print. **

[MSer102]

Health insurance is supplied by employers as a benefit of employment. Usually when people leave their jobs - whether they quit, retire or are fired - their health insurance ends because the person isn't employed anymore so doesn't qualify for employment benefits.

If your union has a specification in their contract about health insurance, that would something unique to your union contract and not something that applies to anyone else or can just be googled in a general way.

That means that the only entities who can tell you whether you can keep your health insurance if you retire are legal and/or HR representatives of your union, the branch of government your union contracts with and possibly an attorney you hire yourself to interpret your union contract for you. The only people who can tell you in simple terms what your contract says are people with the legal knowledge to read and interpret it. That doesn't include anybody on a message board.

I'm sorry you are in this position. But it's not something that just anybody can answer for you.

[pennstater]

As MSer102 said, it really depends on the wording of the union contract.

As an example, my brother in law had a bad workers comp accident 6 years ago. He recovered and worked again. He is now having issues. They are arguing about whether work comp related or not. If work comp related, then healthcare is to be provided by employer, in addition to work comp claim covering related med expenses. If He just goes out on LTD, then no healthcare.

His contract also has provisions that if company offers any early retirement packages then healthcare is provided until he reaches official retirement age and eligible for Medicare.

You really need to review your contract and see what conditions would allow you to retain healthcare.

Good luck to you.

[Rich Feingold]

Hi, sniperpr1 and everyone. I would suggest a thorough search of the US Dept of Labor's website and talking with your union rep concerning your options. Concerning reasonable accommodations and the ADA, you could also speak with an attorney who handles employment law matters to find out about your rights and options. I wish you the best of luck, sniperpr1.

Rich

[hdwhit753]

OPM [dot] GOV

If you are a Federal Government employee, you can get answers to a lot of the questions you have on the Office of Personnel Management website, OPM [dot] GOV.

Also, I suggest you talk to one of the attorneys who works in your union's office. They are almost certainly going to be more familiar with the details of the law than your steward or chapter president.

As far as reasonable accommodation goes, don't let the experience of someone else scare you away from investigating it. You don't know what that other person asked for as an accommodation.