Hey Dopers, is my company really this dumb?

So back in October, I was sick and my Drs told me that I can no longer work nights. i work in the restaurant business for a major restaurant company. I am usually scheduled to close 2-3 times a week. I brought them a note from one of my drs saying that I was not allowed to work past 9pm. The HR director for my region told me that they would figure out what they were going to do. First he offered me the opportunity to work in 2 different restaurants since there are 4 close to my house. When I said yes to that, they told me that it wasn’t possible since they didn’t know how to pay me in 2 stores. They then offered me part time. When I said yes to that option, I was told that there were no part time opportunities in my area. So now they’ve decided that the best option they could come up with was having me go on medical leave until my Dr. clears me to work nights, which he won’t, or until they can find a way to meet my accomodation. Even that was difficult, they wanted me to post date my medical leave 3 weeks. My dr. didn’t feel good about that either. So now I’m being paid to stay home instead of them making a simple accomodation. They also called me yesterday and asked for my keys back and asked me to clear out my office. This sounded ominously like I was being terminated. So should I get a lawyer and see about suing them? Doper lawyers, I’d love some advice from you, of course you’re not my lawyer and I’m not your client and it wouldn’t be advice written in stone. Thanks.

Just out of curiousity, what sort of illness prevents you from working nights? If you don’t feel comfortable answering that, just tell me to shut up. :smiley:

No, I’m finally comfortable answering that. I have bi-polar disorder. The problem isn’t so much in working nights as its the lack of a set schedule. Which leads to sleep deprivation and a lack of structure which all of my docs think will greatly increase the chances of a relapse. I don’t want to spend any more time in the hospital with this.

IANAL but if they are still paying you then you don’t have damages and don’t have anything to sue them about.

If they are asking you to clear out your office I would suggest you ask them to put it in writing. In fact, get everything possible in writing from here on out.

Having a variable schedule causes bi-polar episodes? To be frank if that’s the case the restaurant business is probably not the right profession for you.

It does sound like you’re being fired, and without more info it doesn’t sound like you got much of a case unless you plan to make some ADA discrimnation argument. What do you think your legal rationale would be in suing them?

As another Bipolar person who is now stable, I can certainly say that Bipolar Disorder both causes and is aggravated by an irregular sleep schedule. I think it is a legitimate reason to stay away from the night shift. I remember back when I would work manicallly for 48 - 72 hours straight and then crash and sleep 16 - 24 hours. A regular sleep schedule is a good idea.

I think there would be a legitimate ADA case but unfortunaelty it would be very expensive and impractical for most individuals to pursue it and win. It could take years.

I once worked for a company that didn’t fire me, but took away my keys. They refused to say if I was let go or not even thought I asked repeatedly. I went ahead and filed for unemployment benefits, and the company protested them. We had a hearing and I won the benefits.

If you’re thinking of suing, ask for a lawyer. You are not likely to get good advice on the Dope.

No, that’s not what he’s saying.

With mental illnesses, behavior modification is usually a huge part of treatment. Medication and counseling are crucial, but they don’t make the illness go away. The person needs to find strategies that either minimize the likelihood of bad episodes, or simply allow the person to cope with life with the illness.

For example, I have clinical depression. One thing that makes me feel worse is getting too much sleep. And I love to sleep. So, if I have the opportunity to sleep 10 hours a day, I will. And if I do that, especially over the course of a few days, my depression symptoms get worse. So sometimes I have to force myself out of bed or stay up later than I really want to to make sure I don’t start that cycle. But that’s just a thing I’ve worked out for myself through trial and error.

In a more general sense, one thing that tends to help many many people with all sorts of mental illnesses is to stick to a routine. So, it doesn’t surprise me at all to hear that DrLoveGun’s symptoms are made worse by a variable schedule.

Anyway, it sounds like DrLoveGun’s employers aren’t making “reasonable accomodations” for him. If they really can’t use someone who can’t work a variable schedule, that’s one thing. But saying they can’t accomodate him because they don’t know how to do the paperwork? That’s BS.

DrLoveGun: I’d think that there are some free legal resources available to people who may have ADA related troubles. Maybe you could get some real legal advice for free through some agency.

Bi-polar is recognized by the state of California as a disability. And unfortunately when I started working in the restaurant, I hadn’t been diagnosed yet. I thought the way I lived was normal. Boy was I wrong.

Dr. LoveGun,

Unforutunately this is not the first time I’ve heard this type of scenario. An aquaintance of mine was “pushed” out of a job for asking for an altered schedule to accomodate her need for a set routine. (She’s also bi-polar) She did not contact a lawyer but she should’ve. She was lucky and found another nursing postition where the employer understood and was willing to work with her.

The thing is, you need to make a living and your employer is not working with you. I’d at least consult a lawyer (most will give you a free consultation) to see what your options are.

I have to say that I think your employer’s excuse of not knowing how to pay you for working in two stores is a heap of horseshit.

Good luck to you. Keep us posted if you would, please.

I could not have said it better my self.

I don’t understand why they made two different offers to you, then reneged on both of them. Maybe they were hoping you would turn them down?

I’d definitely see a lawyer.

Instead of a generic employment lawyer, you might also seek guidance from NAMI - I think this is your local affiliate. They may be able to hook you up with a specific mental illness advocate, which may be cheaper or free.

That’s what we thought was going on. They were hoping that niether offer would appeal to me, so they wouldn’t have to honor them. This really sucks. They really just want me to quit. But I am more stubborn than they know.

I’m confused how needing a set schedule automatically precludes working night shift. If what you need is a consistent schedule couldn’t you work Mon-Wed days and Fri & Sat evenings as long as they were the same shifts every week?

The schedule needs too be consistant on a daily basis. Even if it the irregular daily schedule is the same week in week out your body’s internal clock is a daily one not a weekly one so you will still be disrupted.

As an HR person, I think **dasgupta ** gave you the best advice. California generallly has more employee-friendly laws than the federal laws, so connect with local professionals.

Another organization that is helpful is the Job Accommodation Network.

http://www.jan.wvu.edu/

They help employers and employees work together to develop successful accommodations.

While hiring a lawyer is expensive, and it might eventually be a good idea, you can probably get a long way by educating yourself about your legal rights (and obligations) and how other employees have been successfully accommodated in similar situations in the past in other companies. Bring laws and examples to the manager/ HR person printed out from the Internet. I would advise against trusting them to research it themselves.

This issue will continue to face you in other jobs, so you might as well take the time to educate yourself about the legal aspects of it now.

Some of the previous respondents to this thread have been questioning “I don’t understand why you need to not work nights …” People at work will probably be like that, too. My advice is don’t get into those discussions about what works and what doesn’t with anyone but your doctor. Once your doctor recommends what accommodation is needed, talk with folks at work about **how ** to make it happen, not **why ** it needs to happen.

And, yes, get everything in writing. If they tell you something in person or over the phone, note it on your calendar with the date, time, who told you what.

Exactly. This sort of thing is what brought on DLG’s major manic episode that landed him in the hospital. Basically he’s have every Tuesday off, but that was it regarding consistency. Many many times he’d work from 4pm until 2-3am, only to have to open at 7am. Beyond that, no two weeks were ever the same or predictable. Days and times were almost random.

The result was that he rarely got more than 5 hours of consecutive sleep, and he had no rythym* to his life- daily, weekly, or circadian-ally. Nor he could he participate in consistent activities such as religous services, social activities, family time, etc. For a person with bipolar, and DLG in particular, a regular schedule biologically as well as a regular consistent routine and daily life rythym* is essential for him to prevent relapse. This was something that was stressed to him at the hospital where they specialized in BP1, but by his therapist and outside med guy. Initially he resisted this, and after a full week of randomness began to have some paranoia and manic issues. And he was a royal asshole to live with.

It’s not that they can’t accomendate him- the HR director mentioned that there was another manager who needed a PT schedule and indeed has it. It’s that they didn’t expect him to say yes. Now they are hoping they can frustrate or bore him into submission, or that the reduction in pay that leave entails will be enough of a hardship for him to quit or cave. Also, they are super-lazy pig-humpers who don’t want to fill out two payroll forms. They also are afraid if he gets a PT or set schedule, others will demand it as well.

  • I have never, even once, spelled this correctly.

Thanks for the advice. :slight_smile:

DLG has spoken with the ADA federal line, and they assured him that he is well covered. His employer consulted legal and have told DLG they know they have to comply and that he is covered.

My advice to DLG has been pretty much the same- NOT to make ANY excuses for why he can’t have a crazy schedule, and not to “try and convince the doctor to change orders” as his boss suggested. I advised DLG to remind his boss EXACTLY how unfavorably various flavors of feds/regulators/etc look at medical fraud and harassment, and that if it continued he would “pursue other channels of resolution.” They got the message and backed off.