I have suffered chronic depression for decades. I have taken a whole laundry list of anti-depressants over the years, and most have been unhelpful at best.
Not to say I am not functional (and I am definitely not suicidal). I hold down a well-paying job, though my relations at work are beginning to fray due to my frequent mental-health related absences and sub-optimal performance. I have a feeling something majorly bad will happen soon - though it might just be my anxiety flaring again.
In this context last week I got an email from a research organization seeking volunteers for a study on chronic treatment-resistant depression. I called them, and after a short screening, said I might be eligible to participate. The catch is that, if I am selected to join - after their more rigorous screening next week - I would have to visit their facility once a week for several hours. Effectively this means I cannot work that day, since the facility is an hour’s drive from home.
In your opinion in this circumstance would I be justified in requesting medical accommodation so that I might participate in this study? I am thinking I will ask for one weekday off in lieu of an additional two hours of work on the other weekdays.
What I am apprehensive about is: 1) my manager is already cold-shouldering me, and the vibes are definitely getting frosty, and 2) I would be participating in a study, not a proven treatment.
On the one hand this seems like an opportunity to get a hold over a chronic condition that makes me miserable each day. But then obviously I would like to keep my job, too. I haven’t said a word to HR or my manager yet, but I doubt the conversation will be pleasant. Should I bite the bullet?
I know how I would handle this situation if I were still managing an office. If you are a long time employee with a good attendance record and you came to me and told me all of the above, I’d do all I could to work with you on your request. Even if you’re not a long time employee but otherwise have a good record, I’d do what I could to help.
If you’re a new employee and have had bad attendance during your short stay, I’m going to probably decline.
But I haven’t researched how the current laws would affect this particular situation.
I would ask for it if I were facing your situation. But, I would start with HR and explain it just as you did here and determine what the company policy and position on this specific request is before you approach your boss. If the boss were to give any push-back you can say you already cleared it with HR (assuming they have provision for accommodating you). I am not even sure the boss needs to know the details of what’s going on, other than s/he needs to accommodate the request if HR has approved it.
Actually they can. I’ve denied it before based on incomplete documentation. Of course, I had to explain why the documentation was incomplete, and give the employee 15 days to resubmit the documents. They ignored it and did not resubmit, and FMLA leave was not given.
That being said, I think the OP should apply for FMLA, and take care in filling out all the documents asked for. If the primary care provider signs off, it should be good.
I haven’t seen a “primary provider” mentioned at all in OP’s case, at least in the context of this self-nominated study.
I wonder if this is actually the core issue with the question: this course of treatment doesn’t appear to be at the direction of an actual health care provider. I don’t think any of the normal official channels for accommodation work for self-diagnosis and self-prescription.
Frequent absences? Suboptimal performance? Manager giving you the cold shoulder? Your request may be legit but you have 3 strikes against you. You need to be working with a legit mental health care professional to document your illness, then present that to HR.
I think there are going to be a few issues First, is this study going to be considered treatment? It might be- but I don’t know about that. Second, will the people doing the study complete ( or even be able to complete ) the documentation needed for FMLA ?. And then there’s going to be the issue of even if it is treatment, and the researchers can and will complete the documentation, does the treatment itself require several hours once a week? The treatment, not the study.- if the study is about a new medication, the treatment would be taking the medication, not whatever tests or assessments are going on to see how it works.
There is a nasal spray called Spravato (esketamine) which is basically ketamine. It is prescribed for people with treatment-resistant depression.
Perhaps this is an option for you? With this you would be using an FDA-approved drug, not participating in a trial that would require time off work so your workplace might be more willing.
There are also in-clinic infusions of ketamine available.
Isn’t FMLA a continuous leave of absence for a maximum of 12 weeks? If I am selected for this study I would need to be there for only a day each week at the beginning, with physical visits probably becoming less frequent as the study progresses. I just do not know enough at this point how long the study might last - I would assume it will last far longer than 12 weeks. FMLA doesn’t look like a good fit.
This is a research study. There is no “provider” and the “treatment” would consist of evaluation with a novel agent which may or may not work for me.
I realize I need a lot more information to decide how to approach this. I have this screening on 8/8 that should answer my questions. I plan to ask if they can address a letter to my employer to request some kind of accommodation. Surely a study that requires volunteers to present themselves for several hours on a weekday would be prepared to provide documentation to help with obtaining some form of accommodation? Or they are probably only going to get unemployed or retired people.
I tried Ketamine lozenges for 2 months. They made me dizzy. One option I have not tried so far is Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS). I have heard mixed reactions to that therapy.
Are you a member of a protected class? Race, color, sexual oreintation, religon, disability, national origin? If so you may be protected. Otherwise you need to be declared disabled by a doctor. Would Social Security declare you as disabled so that you can recieve early benefits? If not you are generally fucked.
Spravato must be delivered under the direct supervision of medical professionals. Each session lasts 2-3 hours. For the first four weeks, Spravato is administered twice a week; weeks 5-8, once a week; maintenance after that is once every two weeks.
Don’t just think about the request for this specific test program.
Think about the effects on your job in the future. (Your cold-shouldered boss, your frosty co-workers, etc)–how will you face them 6 months from now, a year from now and 2-3 years from now.
The test may be a legit reason, and it may even help you medically. But even if it helps you, you may not get any practical help for several years. (I’m assuming that they are testing a new medicine , hoping to license it…and that’s a process which takes years.)
So whatever good you get from the test medically will be short lived. But the act of participating in the test may do you lots of harm at work in the long term. .
Look at the big picture, not just this one-time request for medical leave.
IANAL but I think you have to use up your sick time before FMLA kicks in. So I agree with those who’ve said to use your sick time. Maybe you only need to take a half day once a week instead of a whole day.
Update: I went to the clinical research center. They are evaluating a novel drug that acts on opioid receptors in the brain to reduce symptoms of depression as an adjuvant to whatever treatment is currently being taken for the condition.
The protocol requires that I get off of Xywav and Adderall for the duration of the study, which is for 6 weeks. Not happening. Literally the main reason I am able to get anything done at work is Adderall - a small dose but massively effective for me. Besides it is placebo-controlled and there is a 50% chance I get to take a sugar pill for 6 weeks.
So I guess my FMLA/accommodation question is now moot. Good thing I haven’t talked to HR or my manager.
For my trouble, they did give me a $50 card, so there’s that.
BTW, if anybody is interested, I was matched through this website: https://www.researchmatch.org. They have a ton of studies going on. It might be of some interest or help you or others.