Help with Employers - Is my Apnea a Disability? - ADA

[CollegeGirl]

I just found the most incredibly helpful site EVER. For anyone having problems with your employer, this is a great place to start.

http://www.jan.wvu.edu/media/Sleep.html

Check it out!

[CollegeGirl]

From the same site:

Start here, at the Individuals' page:

http://www.jan.wvu.edu/portals/individuals.htm

Make sure to check out:

Employees' Practical Guide to Requesting and Negotiating Reasonable Accommodations Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

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


What a fantastic resource!

[rvguy]

What a great resource. I will bookmark that site just in case it ever becomes an issue. Thanks CG!

Cheers,
Paul

[Somnambulist]

In addition to the ADA, you also have the FMLA, (Family Medical Leave Act), and if you are in California, you have the CFRA, (California Family Rights Act).

Information on the FMLA can be found here:

http://www.dol.gov/esa/whd/fmla/

Information on the CFRA can be found here:

http://www.dfeh.ca.gov/Statutes/cfra.asp

[dllfo]

CG - there is another law in California ....the Unruh Civil Rights Act might be a big help.
Civil Code section 51(b) "All persons within the jurisdiction of this state are free and equal, and no matter what their sex, race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, disability, or medical condition are entitled to the full and equal accommodations, advantages, facilities, privileges, or services in all business establishments of every kind whatsoever."

We have a medical condition. While many feel this law was written about housing and public accomodations, it has been construed as covering other areas.

We are productive members of society and XPAP should not be seen as a problem for mgt. It SHOULD tell them you are even more valuable because you HAD a problem and took the initiative to fix it.

[meister]

collecting your disability check like the rest of us?

[Snoredog]

I don't see having OSA as being a disability. I see it as being more proactive with ones health than the person that doesn't know or do anything about it and ends up with a heart attack, stroke or premature death.

why should that be a disability and be given special treatment?

Having OSA is already a stigma that once attached can prevent you from obtaining life and health insurance, impact your driving privilege just to name a few.

It is something I wouldn't want to put down on my resume that is for sure.

[Guest]

No, no - I'm not collecting a disability check. In fact, my doctor tried to get me to apply for disability a year and a half ago, and I refused. Now that I'm getting proper treatment, I wouldn't be eligible anyway, as, by definition, a medical condition has to severely limit one or more of your important life activities to qualify as a disability. Now that I'm getting proper treatment, I'm not longer severely limited.

I just thought it would be great to have these links on a thread where people can find them. Thanks to the other posters that have posted additional links for other resources and avenues for help. If you keep it up, I think we can have an incredibly useful thread here!

--CG

[CollegeGirl]

Whoops! Guested! That last post was me, obviously.

[Somnambulist]

I don't see having OSA as being a disability.

Sleep Apnea has been identified by the courts as being a disability as defined by the ADA. (Silk vs. City of Chicago - Sorry, lost the link. will search for it if necessary.)

why should that be a disability and be given special treatment?

My employer has/had a very strict policy on absenteeism. When I was on straight CPAP, I occasionally suffered aerophagia painful enough that I couldn't even bend over to tie my boots, much less respond to emergencies, which is an essential job function in my line of work. Needless to say, on these occasions, I was unable to work.

Under the FMLA, these absences cannot be used against me for disciplinary reasons.

It is something I wouldn't want to put down on my resume that is for sure.

Under the FMLA, you are not required to provide, (and your employer is prohibited from asking for), a specific diagnosis. As I understand it, your doctor is prohibited by law from disclosing any information not required on the official form without your written consent.

I agree that ADA, FMLA and CFRA can be tricky things to use, and, if misused can bite you in the rear, but they also are useful tools that can be a great aid to those who genuinely need them.

[Somnambulist]

Now that I'm getting proper treatment, I'm not longer severely limited.

CG,

First of all, I'm not a lawyer, (or anything even close! ). This having been said, here's how I see it:

Asthma is considered a disability. An asthmatic has an inhaler. The inhaler mitigates the asthma, yet the asthmatic still has asthma, and therefore, a disability.

Diabetes is considered a disability. A diabetic may use insulin. The insulin mitigates the diabetes, yet the diabetic still has diabetes, and therefore, a disability.

Apnea is considered a disability. A hosehead ( ) may use xPAP. The xPAP mitigates the apnea, yet they still have apnea, and therefore, a disability.

I could be way off on this, but it seems logical to me. Maybe someone with a legal background will comment further and shed some light on the subject.

BTW, thank you for starting this thread. I think many will find it useful.

[Somnambulist]

Ok.. I may have been wrong about "mitigation"...

See this link.

Told you I wasn't a lawyer!

[dllfo]

No disability check here either.

[pharmwoman]

my employer has been awesome--I travel quite a bit and I always get my own room, which many people are jelous of, but Id rather not have sleep apnea. I know some companies could care less and will force you to share a room during training or meetings.

[WilsonVilleUSA]

A couple things you need to be aware of when citing ADA for accomodations, is that reasonable accomodations are only applicable to "non-essential" functions of the position. If a disability keeps you from perfoming the essential tasks, then there is no protection.

Also it is the employer who decides what the "reasonable accomodation" is.
You might think you need a special lift or elevator to get you to the 3rd floor where your office is due to mobility issues with stairs. The employer might decide to move your office to the first floor janitors closet.

As an example, I work at a 911 center. We had a policy that people were required to work at least two different shifts a year. We are obviously a 24/7/365 operation and attendance is a major concern for staffing. Our staffing is based on call volumes and if we are understaffed, there are delay in emergency response. As such, we have a very strict trady/absentee policy where after your third tardy in a year it triggers a disciplinary action. After 5, you have time off without pay, and after 11 you are terminated. It doesn't matter whether you were 1 minute late or 20, late is late. Sick call has to be done prior to two hours before your shift start or it is a violation. (people who knew they were going to be late started calling in sick to avoid the tardy policy). If your pattern or frequency of sick use is questionable, you may be required to see a doctor and provide documentation for any use of sick leave.

We had someone cite sleep disorder as a reason to be accomodated by not having to work the two different shift a year since the disruption and change to their sleep patterns aggravated the condition. This was allowed because it was decided that the job was the same for the most part regardless of what time you worked it, so working varying shifts was not an essential task.

Someone else cited the sleep disorder to try and avoid responsibility for tardy and attendance issues. The accomodation they sought was to be exempted from the attendance policy. Due to the nature of the job, reliable attendance was deemed essential and so no accomodation was made.