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USPS and reasonable accommodation.

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    USPS and reasonable accommodation.

    I have worked for USPS for 2 years now. The last year I have been a Lead Mail Processing Clerk on automation. I was placed into this position, I did not ask for it.
    I have felt great with my medication and have had no flares or new symptoms for 3 years, I was averaging a flare a year before I found my new Dr and the medication I have been on.

    This year at work being a Lead has been very stressful. It is a constant battle at work. Every night I have people arguing with me, arguing with each other challenging me, yelling at me, intentionally trying to sabotage me, defying me, bullying me. There are just a few employees that act as if they are still in grade school.

    I have recently been feeling poorly again and have been having problems with my legs not wanting to work correctly,spasticity has been horrible, numbness, tingling, severe fatigue and weakness, just about every symptom I have ever had has been hitting me again now. I feel as though I am about to go into a flare any day now.
    I have also been struggling with Tachycardia for the last year and we are trying to find a med now to regulate my heart beat.

    I believe this has all been brought on by the stress I now endure at work every single night. There have been nights at work that the defiance and bullying have been so severe that I need to find a place alone and just cry. Management will not do anything about it. I have spoken to my manager several times about it and all he ever says is I will talk to them or her or him or look into it. He then lets it fall to the wayside and forgets about any of it.
    I love everything else about my job, I just despise the "LEAD" part of it as this is why I have to endure the abuse.

    I am wondering if this is enough to ask for a job modification as a reasonable accommodation. I simply want the Lead taken off of my title. We do have another lead that does the job most nights. I only do it 2 nights a week unless the other lead in gone from work. It would also save the post office money in the long run and there are other clerks that are qualified to take over the lead aspect of the job.

    I do not want to leave my job as I've wanted to work for the PO since I was young and as I said I love every other aspect of my job, but NO JOB is ever worth getting sick over.

    Thank you,
    Valerie
    DX 10/26/11

    #2
    Originally posted by valeriem2220 View Post
    I have worked for USPS for 2 years now. The last year I have been a Lead Mail Processing Clerk on automation. I was placed into this position, I did not ask for it.
    I have felt great with my medication and have had no flares or new symptoms for 3 years, I was averaging a flare a year before I found my new Dr and the medication I have been on.

    This year at work being a Lead has been very stressful. It is a constant battle at work. Every night I have people arguing with me, arguing with each other challenging me, yelling at me, intentionally trying to sabotage me, defying me, bullying me. There are just a few employees that act as if they are still in grade school.

    I have recently been feeling poorly again and have been having problems with my legs not wanting to work correctly,spasticity has been horrible, numbness, tingling, severe fatigue and weakness, just about every symptom I have ever had has been hitting me again now. I feel as though I am about to go into a flare any day now.
    I have also been struggling with Tachycardia for the last year and we are trying to find a med now to regulate my heart beat.

    I believe this has all been brought on by the stress I now endure at work every single night. There have been nights at work that the defiance and bullying have been so severe that I need to find a place alone and just cry. Management will not do anything about it. I have spoken to my manager several times about it and all he ever says is I will talk to them or her or him or look into it. He then lets it fall to the wayside and forgets about any of it.
    I love everything else about my job, I just despise the "LEAD" part of it as this is why I have to endure the abuse.

    I am wondering if this is enough to ask for a job modification as a reasonable accommodation. I simply want the Lead taken off of my title. We do have another lead that does the job most nights. I only do it 2 nights a week unless the other lead in gone from work. It would also save the post office money in the long run and there are other clerks that are qualified to take over the lead aspect of the job.

    I do not want to leave my job as I've wanted to work for the PO since I was young and as I said I love every other aspect of my job, but NO JOB is ever worth getting sick over.

    Thank you,
    Valerie
    Hi Valerie

    Stress is not beneficial to anyone and is often detrimental - especially work stress, and especially for those of us with MS.

    It seems as if the job modification you want is reasonable.

    This info, from the Job Accommodation Network (JAN), US Department of Labor, is a practical guide to requesting and negotiating reasonable accommodation.

    It's not very long (question and answer format), and it should help to answer your concerns:

    https://askjan.org/Eeguide/IIRequest.htm

    PS - I'm a former employee of the USPS, and had no problems with accommodations. Hopefully you won't either!

    Take Care
    PPMS for 26 years (dx 1998)
    ~ Worrying will not take away tomorrow's troubles ~ But it will take away today's peace. ~

    Comment


      #3
      How are things going? If you're still working lead, what sort of discipline paradigm does your organization use? For my civil service job, there's a progressive model. You have to write everything down, or it didn't happen. We have some seasonal workers and some of them make you weep for the future of mankind. I tend to second guess myself because I know MS can wreak havoc with emotions and cognition. The pedantic policy we have has actually helped me manage, even if I'm not going to win any leadership awards for inspiring a 180.

      Have meetings, lay out expectations, write people up, and if your supervisor isn't doing anything, escalate. Maybe you're union stuck with them but you can get them a bad performance review or transferred. In my experience only one head has to roll and everyone steps it up a notch. You could also informally turn to them, look them in the eye, and say, "I haven't disrespected you, why are you acting this way"? Who knows, maybe they have MS too.

      Comment


        #4
        This might seem counterintuitive, but have you thought of becoming a supervisor? With less physical work and more authority to respond to bad behavior, being the supervisor could be the right move for you.

        Comment

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