Work Environment And Celiac Disease

[greatdanesasha]

What are our legal rights as Celiac sufferers? I recently started a new job (4 months ago) and had to visit the doctor last week with horrible pains in my GI tract due to Celiac. This after I had suffered for two days already trying to "tough it out" and make it to the weekend. It was obvious that I was in pain, and I was shaking from the aching gut, so I had to leave work for half a day to visit the doctor as I still do not have a good handle on dealing with this disease. I was reprimanded for missing work, as I had already missed two days the month before for having pneumonia. Are we eligible for short term disability and can we be fired for missing "too much work" due to the severity of the disease? I have all the worst symptoms... while I understand that many celiacs do not have symptoms, I have them with a vengeance. Please help, I am desperate and don't want to lose this new job as I really do enjoy it. Thank you.

[tarnalberry]

you would have to work through your doctor on that, and determine if he/she can fill out the paperwork necessary. it *is* covered under the disability laws, and it may be worth bringing to the attention of your boss that it is a medical condition that is causing this, and you are legally protected, but first ask if he needs paperwork. sometimes, it may just be that you are getting hassled because your boss is getting hassled, and they just need to see a doctor's note (which needn't go into any detail, again, by law).

[StrongerToday]

I think a lot of it has to deal with the size of your employer; do you have a Human Resource person to contact?

[greatdanesasha]

I think a lot of it has to deal with the size of your employer; do you have a Human Resource person to contact?

We do have a medium-sized company with an HR department. The problem is, the HR dept is in another city and I am supposed to report to my bosses here first. I don't know how to approach them with the idea that I may miss work due to the disease, because I know I will have to approach very carefully to prevent being fired (if that's legal). I am just a mess over this. I really want to be a good employee, but it's difficult when you are in pain, can't concentrate, and are overly tired due to getting up several times during the night.

[greatdanesasha]

you would have to work through your doctor on that, and determine if he/she can fill out the paperwork necessary. it *is* covered under the disability laws, and it may be worth bringing to the attention of your boss that it is a medical condition that is causing this, and you are legally protected, but first ask if he needs paperwork. sometimes, it may just be that you are getting hassled because your boss is getting hassled, and they just need to see a doctor's note (which needn't go into any detail, again, by law).

Thank you for the tip. I feel better about the situation. How can I find out what the law is in my state regarding the disability laws?

[elonwy]

If it is regarding something that *may* become a harrasment issue, you have the right to talk to your HR person directly. I am in a satellite office as well, where we have no "official" HR person, and so I often have to contact the main office in order to resolve things more complicated that turning in a time sheet or figuring out sick time. They may want you to go to your local office for minor stuff first, but you cannot be reprimanded (legally) for directly contacting your HR person for your company if your local office does not have a person designated in that capacity.

HTH

Elonwy

[photocat]

It may depend on what state you work in. For example, I live and work in Virginia and it is a "right to work" state (or something like that) meaning that any company can fire you for any reason and you can leave any company for any reason - at any time. In other words, where I am, they could fire me because of a health issue but to cover their rumps, claim it was something else (job performance, etc). I imagine other states, California comes to mind, that probably don't operate like that. I think you really should research your state's work laws first and become knowledgeable with what can be done in your area and what you can do to protect yourself.

On a less litigious note, perhaps explaining to them a bit about your illness and providing a doctor's note may be helpful. When I was diagnosed with Scleritis and was missing time to visit doctors and such, I simply told my manager everything. I took time off when needed and worked extra hard when there. As long as my job was getting done, he was more than supportive. You don't have to go into the gory details but an honest approach may work. Think of it from their side or if you were a manager of a new hire that seemed to show a trend of missing work. New hires haven't built that trust up yet so if you are honest with them and provide doctor's note as proof, that may be all you need.

You can spin it to make yourself look good and them to. Something like "I know this company values its employees and I value working for such a supportive team. I unfortunately have a health condition which may require me to miss some time

[kbtoyssni]

It looks like you might be recently diagnosed. In that case, you can also emphasize that your body is still healing and that you shouldn't need to miss much work once you're fully healed. Short-term disability would probably only be necessary while you're healing. Good luck!