EMERGENCY EVACUATION IN THE WORKPLACE

[Dreams008]

My employer just notified me that they will not be giving me "special" treatment or assisting me to the stairwell in the event of an emergency. I am unable to walk and use a scooter/wheelchair, but I am unable to wheel myself as my right arm no longer is useful. I contacted JAN (Job Assistance Network) with the Department of Labor and they said my company has to make sure I am out of the building. I also brought in documentation from the DOL stating that support may be required to evacuate me. The CEO gave me two options. She said I can work from home FT or risk knowing I will not be helped if I come into the office. As nice as working from home sounds, I feel "normal" coming into work and forget about MS. Do I need to hire legal help? Do they have the right to refuse assistance to a disabled employee?

[Jules A]

I have zero legal knowledge but doubt they can refuse to help you out although if I were you and was in a building that I couldn't remove myself from in the rare chance of an emergency evacuation I'd be hesitant to count on someone helping me even if they agreed in advance. During emergencies people can freak out and although they might normally be helpful if the flight/flight instinct kicks in it would be difficult to predict their assistance with certainty, imo.

Number one I'd get their position in writing, email perhaps? The other thing for your own safety and piece of mind is to figure out a way to modify your wheel chair so you can operate it to get yourself out in an emergency? And possibly make sure local responders know there is a disabled person in that building in the event of an emergency? Good luck and I hope others with information of the legalese will write also.

[J-Bo]

Dreams, no they do NOT have a right to refuse assistance to you. IANAL, but they have to give you a reasonable accommodation. I'm not sure if there's a government agency you can contact, or if you have to get a lawyer, but this is outrageous enough that I'd think maybe even threatening to contact local news might do the trick. Is it a big company? Usually they don't want to mess with their image, and something like this would really generate some ill will from the community.

[jreagan70]

Do I need to hire legal help? Do they have the right to refuse assistance to a disabled employee?

You should get legal advice from a labor attorney. It's important to distinguish the difference between what's required by law and what's just strongly recommended. Employers aren't required by the ADA to assist disabled employees during normal work activities. There may be other laws pertaining to emergencies and, if there are, you need to know what they are.

Even though JAN said your company has to "make sure you're out of the building," that may not mean that your employer is responsible for getting you out. The Department of Labor's own website says:

"While employers bear much of the responsibility for emergency preparedness planning, employees with disabilities must also take the initiative to ensure their safety. Employees should not assume plans have or will be put in place for them."

Your coworkers can't be forced to volunteer to evacuate you. An obligation to evacuate you would mean that your company has to have someone on staff whose job description includes evacuating disabled employees. Depending on your company, that may not be reasonable. And it's not a guarantee, either. What if that person is out sick the day of the emergency? What if that person is just unable to get to you during the emergency?

So you definitely need to know if your employer is obligated by law to have an employee whose job it is to evacuate disabled employees.

What may work against you is that your employer has offered you a reasonable accommodation of allowing you to work full time from home. You need legal advice to determine if your company meets its legal obligation to you by making the accommodation. If so, and you decline it, that will be the legal end of the issue. It will mean that you understand and accept that you're on your own in getting out of the building in an emergency.

With such serious implications, you really should get legal advice to find out exactly what your employer's legal obligations are. (That means, don't believe anything you read on a message board. )