Fibromyalgia Support Group
You're not alone in your pain. Fibromyalgia is a condition that can be difficult to diagnose and manage. If you're trying to cope with pain throughout your body, sleep problems, general fatigue, or other common fibromyalgia symptoms, you're in the right place. The community is here for you to talk about therapies and share your challenges.
Hi everyone-as some of you might remember, I was fired from my job of 10 years in May, 2008, because of memory problems I had as part of fibro. and lupus. The purpose of the neuro-cognative testing was to find the areas of cognative problems and how to correct them. I was going to use the report to give to my lawyer I am speaking to because I feel that I was fired illegally. My supervisor, when telling me to leave, said that she "was sorry my illnesses had caused me these problems". Rather than accommodating me, she fired me. So I felt that having it down on paper that I did have these memory problems as a result of fibro and lupus, I would have a case of discrimination. Well, was I in for a shock. After 2 days of testing, and waiting for 2 months for the results, the doctor said that he felt that fibro. does not have any memory problems as a part of it. He feels that fibro is just a junk name for a diagnosis that doesn't really exist! I couldn't believe it. The guy is an idiot, and the testing is a total waste for my case. According to him, my memory problems are only a result of my meds, not from the disease itself. So now I have no documentation that my memory problems at work were due to my illnesses. I have not been able to find a job since I was let go, and I had been hoping that at least I would receive some compensation for them firing me. My doctors weren't too happy, and I can't afford to be retested. But we all know that with fibro, (and lupus, which I also have)come problems with memory. Sorry this got so long-I just needed to vent. What a waste!
God bless all of you, and hopefully we will all have a better year in 2009.
God bless all of you, and hopefully we will all have a better year in 2009.
Hugs and Prayers
I'm afraid though, that I must disagree with whomever told you that you had a case for wrongful termination or discrimination.
In my journals, I describe my former occupation. After I injured myself ON THE JOB, eventually it was determined that I would never physically be able to do that job again. At that point, my employer "terminated" my employment officially. It wasn't THEIR fault I was no longer able to do the job, it was an accident. There was no way they could accommodate my new impairments. I worked on 1000 pound machines and now am unable to lift more than 50 pounds. What were they supposed to do? Hire an additional "helper" to lift things for me? And trust me, until that final determination, they WANTED me back on the job big time! It was going to cost them a lot of money to replace me with someone of equal skill level/experience.
Your abilities changed AFTER they hired you. It's only discrimination if they fire you for something that would not alter your ability to do the job. Say, if you had a desk job and ended up in a wheel chair. The wheel chair in no way affects your ability to do the job. I'm sorry that your change in abilities cost you your job, but there is only so much accommodation that we can reasonably expect of a company. If there is NO WAY your going to be able to do your job...they have little choice.
I do hear what the other posters are saying about a company not being able to keep an employee on who can no longer do the job. But they have insurance for this kind of situation, and anything paid to an employee on disability comes from the insurance co.
Yes, the company pays the insurance co for teh benefit, but in most cases, the employee pays for part of that too. It's part of a benefits package.
Just a thought. I'm so sorry you were treated like that.
Jenn
That doesn't make it moral or right, but it IS legal. ADA is, and always has been, a much more complex law than what's written in the code. Ultimately it turns on the cases, and the law changes with each court decision. The new ADA amendment has brought the situation back to more what the original law intended, but what hasn't changed is that the essential functions test remains.
Bethy is right about the records though. You have a right to those records - they are YOURS. They may charge you to make copies, but they have to give them to you. Another even more complex and less understood law, HIPAA, requires the doctor to honor any request for "communication" of your medical records, including a request to provide them to YOU.
As for employer-provided disability, first, most employers do not provide private disability insurance. Second, even when they do, the tragedy is that most employees elect not to participate. The usual scenario is that employers who do provide disability insurance will pay for long-term, but employees usually pay for short-term disability, and they more often than not opt out, because, especially for women, it's very pricey. Short-term disability covers pregnancy and childbirth, so is heavily used, which is why it's much more expensive and most employers don't pay for it.
But...the most important thing here, I believe, is what the hell did the tests show? I haven't heard any test results - I've only heard a doctor's opinion that fibro doesn't have cognitive issues. That's not a test result. GET the test results if you have to go stand in his waiting room until he gets tired of seeing you. You have a right to those results - there is no reason you should have the testing done again.
Do know that it probably won't get you anything legally, because I've heard nothing that would make your termination illegal (discriminatory), and this is MY field.