Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
The OP's husband should contact the local MS Association immediately. They often have attorneys who will work for free to help him resolve this. Assuming the OP's husband can perform the essential duties of the job he may need to request a reasonable accommodation, keep in mind the fact that the employer will not initiate this.
They may not initiate it, but now that they know he has MS, they can't use the special accommodations as ignorance. They would be much better off doing everything they can to accommodate him and document that instead of waiting for him to request it. So many people don't do it because of fear, denial, depression, and employers take advantage of that.
Quote:
Further, an employer may have a legal duty to investigate
accommodations even if the employee does not request one.
Employers are never required to accommodate a disability that they
do not know about. For this reason, and because of the many legal
liability issues connected to medical information, many employers
prefer to limit the amount ofmedical information that is required
It doesn't matter whether you "believe" it or not. A job is not a "right" and he does not have a "right" to make a living even though you invoke the magical word "family".
And now that you've admitted "we" (interesting choice of words) lie to employers, I just lost any sympathy I might have had for you. Or is it also his "right" to lie on applications in order to get what he wants?
I guess I don't understand what you mean about his right to lie on applications. People with disabilities are not required to disclose said disabilities to employers for the very reason that they won't be hired.
You can have MS and have absolutely no disability and you can have it and be in a wheelchair. Read up on it.
We call it the snowflake disease, everyone of us is different.
I've apparently had it for 20 years and just started having physical problems a couple of years ago and diagnosed Jan. 2014.
And yes I know that MS is one of the things listed on application questions.
TADA - To me the question is actually illegal and violates HIIPA.
On the one hand, I agree with you. If an employee can no longer do their job, even if reasonable accommodations are made, then it is probably time to part ways.
The problem in the US is when health care is largely linked to employment, it can be catastrophic for a person to get sick. At some point they are going to lose their employer sponsored health care plan, but because of previous years income are not going to qualify for Medicaid or any substantial ACA subsidies.
The system is set up to penalize sick people. Every other advanced nation on the planet has realized this and instituted a form of socialized medicine, but in the US we simply let people get sick, then declare bankruptcy while their health deteriorates due to substandard health care, then we dump them on hospitals to deal with on an acute basis until they die, leaving the hospital with an unpaid bill.
This results in desperate people taking desperate measures.
It can also take months/years to be approved for SSDI. You may not even get it if you don't have enough work quarters in, then you're stuck with SSI which pays a max of $700 a month! Who could live off of that!!!
Medicare does not kick in until 24 months after the DOD (date of disability). Therefore you have a chronic illness that requires very expensive drugs but you can't afford the insurance. A lot of pharmaceutical companies do have programs in place to cover people's co-pay and meds if they can't afford them which is a good thing, otherwise you go without. I can actually do without Tecfidera, the MS drugs help 30% of the people 30% of the time. It's the drugs I take to help with the disability. The Baclofen for the spasticity in my lower legs and the Wellbutrin I take for the fatigue.
If you have a relapse, most of the time you need to do 3 - 5 day steroid infustions (NOT FUN), which down the road starting eating at your bones and in my case ruining my veins (after only two infusions). Those luckily are no longer done for the most part in hospitals or infusions centers, insurance companies now require visiting nurses to come over and set of up the IV and the patient is trained on doing the infusion themselves.
Yes it sucks to be sick here in this country. I don't even have a lot of family support because no one wants to take the time to learn about the disease and help. That's why the suicide rate for people who have MS is 50%.
The issue of accommodation is combining two issues.
First, should those with disabilities at law be treated with integrity and respect? On this point I believe emphatically yes, society should have empathy for those that are in vulnerable situations, and many of these illnesses are entirely outside of the control of an individual as to whether they are impacted (eg MS, cancer).
The second highlights a problem with the US culture (please no flaming, just let me finish). The US system is based on an individualistic model, where personal rights and responsibilities are paramount. Individuals take credit for their successes and are believed to be accountable for their failures.
The question for the OP (and others in this situation) is whether an employer should be responsible for something that really is a societal issue.
In Canada, an employer has a legal duty to accommodate an employee who has a diagnosed disability, up to the point of "undue hardship". An employer does not have to make up work, or pay an employee who cannot perform meaningful work, but it can be required to organize work to allow the employee to continue working to the extent they can. A large employer in Canada will have a greater obligation than a small employer in that the point of "undue hardship" is a little harder to establish.
That being said, if an employee cannot perform a job they should go on long term disability. In Canada the "safety net" mitigates the impact of this difficult decision but not entirely.
However as stated above, if the OPs husband cannot perform meaningful work (or by using checklists etc can't keep track of the work he does) then quite likely the employer will be well within its rights to end his employment at some point. His qualification for extended benefits is really an issue outside of the employer's control.
It doesn't matter whether you "believe" it or not. A job is not a "right" and he does not have a "right" to make a living even though you invoke the magical word "family".
And now that you've admitted "we" (interesting choice of words) lie to employers, I just lost any sympathy I might have had for you. Or is it also his "right" to lie on applications in order to get what he wants?
Our ADA counselor said "NEVER tell anyone you have MS." So I'm going to take their advice rather than yours.
Show me WHERE on a job application it says you have to tell them you have a disease? Oh WAIT it's not there.... He worked his job perfectly well for three years at this place despite his MS so again, tell me why they need to know? He worked at his other company for 6 years and was diagnosed during that time. Even though they knew, it still was NOT a requirement for them to know. Does your job know about your high blood pressure? If you have an STD? No... exactly.
Our ADA counselor said "NEVER tell anyone you have MS." So I'm going to take their advice rather than yours.
Show me WHERE on a job application it says you have to tell them you have a disease? Oh WAIT it's not there.... He worked his job perfectly well for three years at this place despite his MS so again, tell me why they need to know? He worked at his other company for 6 years and was diagnosed during that time. Even though they knew, it still was NOT a requirement for them to know. Does your job know about your high blood pressure? If you have an STD? No... exactly.
Then they have no legal obligation to accommodate him.
Our ADA counselor said "NEVER tell anyone you have MS." So I'm going to take their advice rather than yours.
Show me WHERE on a job application it says you have to tell them you have a disease? Oh WAIT it's not there.... He worked his job perfectly well for three years at this place despite his MS so again, tell me why they need to know? He worked at his other company for 6 years and was diagnosed during that time. Even though they knew, it still was NOT a requirement for them to know. Does your job know about your high blood pressure? If you have an STD? No... exactly.
Common sense dictates anything like that would be an automatic disqualifier. That person is seen as a liability
Before they get in the door.
Common sense dictates anything like that would be an automatic disqualifier. That person is seen as a liability
Before they get in the door.
Exactly, that's why it's not on applications so that people DO NOT get discriminated against. And NO, he wasn't asked at his interview if he's disabled.
You can call them and have a free, confidential consult over the phone. They might have some ideas for you, and even if they don't, it won't cost you anything.
Also lots of resources on their site.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
