My mom has had several surgeries on her left foot, the first one was somehow botched and the ones after that were meant to correct it, but they really never have. She has custom orthotics and braces on both of her legs. It’s very difficult for her to stand or walk for long periods of time and she’s not very steady on her feet. Her problem (aside from the obvious) is that she is a cashier and is required to stand at her register 40 hours a week. As her legs and feet have gotten worse, this has become much more difficult and her pain level has increased. At this point in her life, she is taking at least 6 vicodin per day just to make it through her 8 hours of work. Her life has become a monotony of go to work in pain, come home exhausted and in pain, and go to bed in pain. This is all that she does. Unfortunately, the last of her surgeries was not that long ago, so she’s only been back to work for about a month. I simply do not know how she can continue to work like this. And at this point in life after all other sorts of family drama (divorce, bankruptcy) she cannot afford to quit or retire. Here’s the real kicker. **Her employer WILL NOT allow her to sit on a chair or stool while working. ** Imagine the pain that this would eliminate. She’d be able to live her life again.
I believe that this must be discrimination of some sort and that she should be covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act. So, tomorrow we’re going to go visit our family doctor and see if he can help us/steer us in the right direction.
So, my question to my friends, the Dopers, I know, YANAL and YANAD, but what kind of questions should I be asking the doctor? Also, any other resources that you can think of to help us?
I’m really just kind of beside myself about this and frustrated that I can’t be of more help to her.
(I’ve discussed this briefly in the MMP, but I’m still looking for advice and getting nervous about tomorrow…)
Thanks for your help.
reasonable accomodations under the ADA (via the EEOC)
You do not need an attorney to file a complaint with the EEOC. How to file..
There may also be comparable state and local laws, with their own rules and enforcement agencies. Also, if there is a Union in place they normally have a grievance process.
The employer is being rather stupid about the whole situation. It may be a long road to changing their behavior though.
Does her employer fall under the ADA? The main requirement is 15 or more employees. If it’s a grocery store, that’s quite likely, but other, smaller places do have cashiers so I thought I’d mention that first.
Next, does your mother’s condition fall under the ADA? This is based on being substantially limited in at least one activity of daily living. I could see walking or standing meeting that requirement. This is probably going to be your major hurdle, honestly. In addition to the substantial limitation requirement, it also needs to be expected to be permanent to fall under the ADA. If it were a brief recovery period from surgery or a broken leg, for example, that wouldn’t count.
The next part is proposing a reasonable accommodation. The stool sounds reasonable to me. Stores have business reasons for not wanting all of their employees to sit on a stool whenever they want to, but would have a tough time enforcing that in an ADA situation. The stool would not be expensive or prevent her from doing the job in any way I can see. But the store will make her jump through the hoops so they don’t have to let everyone use a stool. They also have the right to suggest other reasonable accommodations (breaks, shorter schedules, etc.). This is called the “iterative process,” where you negotiate an accommodation that works for both parties.
Your mother should talk with her manager and specifically say she’s asking for an ADA accommodation. She should also be prepared to get her doctor involved in documenting her limitation. I think the company may request for her to see a doctor of their choice, also. Incidentally, the doctor’s role here is to document the limitation and help identify a reasonable accommodation, and doesn’t need to get into sharing your mom’s condition with her employer. If her manager doesn’t cooperate, she should go to HR or, if she has one, a union rep.
Good luck!
Looks like you’ve gotten some good advice. I just popped in to observe that her employer is a real dick, whether the ADA applies or not, and I hope you kick their ass.
Thank you for your links, Hello Again! They look much more user friendly than what I had found on my own so far.
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Harriet the Spry**: Yes, she works for a major local grocery chain.
I guess that’s what we’re going to try to begin to establish tomorrow is if her difficulties which ARE permanent fall under the ADA.
Also, yes, she has a union. But let me tell you several stories about how much help they have been. After one of her surgeries she was walking with a boot and using a cane. (She wasn’t a cashier then, but put up stock.) She wasn’t allowed to come back to work until she no longer needed the cane because they were afraid that she would trip someone with it. :dubious:
And recently since she’s been back to work, she’s been running the express. Normally everyone else hates it, but it’s easier for her because the orders are lighter and shorter. Well, apparently the other day the union steward came up to her and told her that she wasn’t allowed to run the express anymore because she was getting special treatment. :mad: :rolleyes:
Thanks for making me smile, Scarlett67. 
We went to the doctor yesterday and he has agreed to write a letter recommending that she be allowed to have some sort of accomodation. We were thrilled and are hoping that management will not be a pain in the ass about the situation.
More to follow…