Sleeping disorder and jobs involving driving

[claypa66]

I am new here. I hope someone can answer this. Currently I drive school bus. During the summer I am currently training to drive the bigger buses (coaches) to go on trips. On my physical form I checked Yes for having a sleeping disorder. The doctor filled in the information stating that I had Apnea treated with a CPAP machine.

My boss became very concerned that I may have narcolepsy. I had to get note from doctor saying that what I have is Obstructive Sleep Apnea and that it is not something that effects me while I am awake. But now the boss says she will not send me out on any overnight trips because of this. She says the insurance company will not allow it.

Anyone have an opinion? Anyone have knowledge of the insurance companies? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

[Guest]

How does it go. Anything you say can and will be used against you. So much for honesty.

Whats this button do ?

Help I can't see straight.

[ahujudybear]

Have you had the sleep latency test that is specifically geared toward identifying narcolepsy? You might want to get this done and bring the results to your boss. (Maybe the company will even pay for the test?)

- JB

[Lost Snoozer]

Do they understand the most machines travel with you? I think that if you take your machine with you, you should be ok.

I know the real subject is the management allowing you to work these trips. You might want to check more into the insurance question and see if there are any solutions to their concerns they may not have considered.

Also what regulations cover your driving with Sleep Apnea in your area?

I have to take safety naps from time to time, like tonight after work. Really helps falling asleep in my chair away from my machine for part of the night.

Good luck, hopefully someone will have more information on this. You can keep this topic towards the top of the list by people replying to the topic or you adding more information in a reply, otherwise the topic falls down the list and may get forgotten.

Looking for Lost Snoozes in several wrong beds.

[mikemoran]

It sounds like the insurance excuse was just that. You are under treatment and there is no basis for denying your ability to do overnight driving. You may want to look into your protections under the Americans with Disability Act. You have rights to work and accomodations.

[Snowdog]

Also what regulations cover your driving with Sleep Apnea in your area?

Well, when I spoke to my Neurologist when she first suspected I had Apnea she told me I was lucky that I didn't live in California (I live in Illinois). She told me that in California she would be required to report to the state just a *suspected* apnea and they would suspend my driver's license until I was being treated. Now, she's got a heavy accent and didn't know a medical term in English that I used so I'm not sure how long she's lived in this country. I also don't know if she ever practiced in California so I would take that with a grain of salt. Anyone in California know if this is true?

[ahujudybear]

You may want to look into your protections under the Americans with Disability Act. You have rights to work and accomodations.

Well, it depends.

There was recently a case against Walmart where an employee was fired because he was taking too long of breaks. He was diabetic and had to test his blood sugar before eating lunch. Walmart employees are only allowed 10- (15?) minute breaks. He took his complaint to the EEOC (the agency that handles ADA Employment problems) and his claim was denied because he was not considered disabled - AS LONG AS HE WAS BEING SUCCESSFULLY TREATED. I was able to write an opinion on this one, stating that the company was not allowing him to perform this supposed successful treatment, and therefore he should have been covered under the ADA. They said that their decision had already been made. <GRR>

I myself am alowed to take naps when and as I need them, as long as they do not interfere with any appointments I might have. I even have a folding lounge chair in my (semi-private) office. But then, I work for an advocacy group where more than half of the employees, management and board members have a disability, so they really understand this stuff.

Good luck with this one! (But the EEOC is the agency you need to contact, not the DOJ).... [Equal Employment Opportunity Commission]

- JB

[barbyann]

You might try resourcing some of the epilepsy forums. I think this would be a topic they would discuss quite frequently. Seizure disorders and narcolepsy would effect job/driving perfomance in the same way.

[Lost Snoozer]

I live in California and was concerned about my condition being reported to Department of Motor Vehicles, but my doctor said nothing about this.

I tried to check what reporting requirements there are here, but it is a little vague and is somewhat open to interpretation (the info I was able to find).

Be careful in California people. I still have my license but if I had lost it, it would have been a problem as I commute 23 miles each way. It took from December 2004 to end of March 2005 to get treatment under way and I had to hassle them a little to get it done.

Lost Snoozer finding lost snoozes.