Employer Harrasment

I have been on intermittent FMLA for 5 months due to allergens at work. I filed an OSHA report and an investigation followed. My employer found out it was me. In the meantime I also filed an EEOC complaint. My Doctor recommended that I work at home.  Others in my position are allowed to work from home.  I found this to be a reasonable accomodation under the ADA.  The company has refused to work with me so when the EEOC wanted to know if I was willing to mediate with the company, I refused since I had tried to work with the company for over 5 months for an amicable solution.  The EEOC is now investigating the company.  On the heels of this the HR rep gave me a Medical Certification Form.  It is not a standard Med Cert form.  In one paragraph it insinuates that I am lying about my condition.  It brings up Holiday pay and regular pay.  Holiday pay is unworked hours. I believe even if I am on FMLA as long as I adhere to policy that I work the day before and the day after I am entitled to it.  Why would my Doctor need to even certify any of this.  My FMLA paperwork stated that I only work 3-4 days maximum for an undetermined period with no specific days specified. I have asked them to remove the paragraph and then I will submit the form.  They stated that if I do not submit it as is I will be written up for insubordination.   I work in NC, but their corporated HQ is in NY.  Anyway NY labors apply as opposed to NC labor law?  I feel as though since the EEOC investigation has started they are now trying to cover all bases and if the Doctor signs off on paperwork with the parapgraph included they can basically prove to the EEOC that my illness is not a valid one. 

bsosna:

 Why would my Doctor need to even certify any of this.

Because in order to qualify for FMLA for a medical condition your doctor has to fill out the paper and confirm your condition. They just don't take your word for it.

It is perfectly reasonable for a DR to have to validate your condition. I took FMLA during each pregnancy and even though I was obviously pregnant my DR still had to fill out the FMLA forms.

What's EEOC got to do with a FMLA issue? Isn't that DOL?

And if air quality is unsafe isnt that OSHA.

If your work site is in NC I.d think NC laws apply ...as an aside NYnlaws might be a bit more worker friendly.

I fail to follow where working at home is necessarily an appropriate accommodation of anything or a quasi entitlement even  if others do it...The medical issue might be you need an air environment without XOR Y problems 

it's unclear  if you are  directed to sign that you agree with an HR statement or merely that you got it...big difference?

In one sense if you are a trouble maker I don't want you anyplace out of sight ? In another sense if the work output is readily measured do I really care if you work remote from your backyard potatoe cellar?

I think everyone is misunderstanding what I am trying to say.

A. I have no problem with submitting the form to my doctor if the one paragraph is eliminated.  The paragraph talks about when i worked and got holiday pay. Not about my physical condition.  Mentioning pay seems very inappropriate on a med cert form. I advised HR to remove the paragraph and I would be more than happy to submit the form. They gave me a 7 day deadline which is unreasonable since my doctor does not have an appointment until the 2nd week of march.  So the HR person told me to just drop it off at the office. No need for an appointment.  I hardly think HR can dictate how my Doctor deals with these types of issues. 

B. I have developed an airborne allergy to photochemicals in the building. When I received my doctors recommendation to work from home or on a limited schedule I took it to HR.  They promptly denied me on both counts.  Even though able bodied people in the same position as myself are currently working from.  I filed the EEOC complaint. My investigator also questioned why some were allowed to work from home and others were not.  

bsosna:

I refused since I had tried to work with the company for over 5 months for an amicable solution.  

What would you have considered an "amicable solution?"  Especially considering the fact that you've filed complaint with OSHA and EEOC; and your belief that the company should allow you to work at home because of a condition requiring "intermittent FMLA"?

bsosna:

 Others in my position are allowed to work from home.  

Others might have a more serious factor than you to deal with.  If the company is accommodating others, then accommodating you might create an undue hardship.

bsosna:

 I feel as though since the EEOC investigation has started they are now trying to cover all bases

Why shouldn't they?  You'll receive the right-to-sue, as does anyone filing an EEOC claim.  You'll have 90 days in which to find an attorney willing to represent you and file suit.  Your employer has the right to be prepared.

Insofar as your pay question is concerned, that's a DOL issue.

In the interim, it might be to your benefit to discuss your situation with an attorney.

Other able bodied not sick people are working from home. 

The pay question is on a Medical Certification Form that they want a Doctor sign off on. I know it is a DOL issue. Please read what i have written before answering.  My point is my etc has nothing to do with something a Doctor needs to do to certify that I have valid medical condition

bsosna:

The pay question is on a Medical Certification Form that they want a Doctor sign off on

The doctor has to sign off on the days you claim you were sick. The paid holiday is to show that you were not out sick on FMLA that day. You don't have to wait until your appointment. You can drop off the paper work at the doctors office. That is the way it is done.

I understand why you think your pay rate would not be appropriate on the FMLA form. The hours you work might be relevant, though, to the medical issue at hand. I don't see the connection between the doctor certifying the FMLA form with the pay and hours described on it and how that might undermine the EEOC investigation on what I assume was a complaint of illegal discrimination based on disability.

As to the part about working from home, there are two distinct issues I see. First, the company cannot discriminate against you because of your disability. Thus, the company could not deny you the ability to work from home because of your disability. The fact that they let some other employees work from home raises the issue of what the reason is that the employer won't let you work from home. If the reason is something OTHER than your disability, that's legal for the employer to do. If the employer cannot give a good answer as to why you are not allowed to work from home when others are, that's troublesome for the employer. This part matters for a request to work from home that has nothing to do with accommodating a disability.

The other issue is, of course, if you are asking to work from home as an accommodation for a disability. An employer must provide a reasonable accommodation to assist a disabled employee to do his/her work unless that would impose an undue hardship on the employer. But note that the employer need not necessarily provide the exact accommodation that the employee requests. So, if the employer can address the problem in some way other than letting you work at home, it is allowed to do that. However, if the employer claims an undo hardship, that's going to be tough to pull off when it already allows others to work from home.

bsosna:

My point is my etc has nothing to do with something a Doctor needs to do to certify that I have valid medical condition

Read what I've posted: Your employer is not required to allow you to work specifically from home if it creates an undue hardship upon the employer involving an intermittent condition. 

Your assumption is that others are "able bodied."  You THINK you know their medical history.

bsosna:

Please read what i have written before answering. 

Reread what you've posted.  Your attempt to dictate isn't working with your employer, and certainly will get you  nowhere with outside agencies you are dragging in.  Do you honestly believe it's going to work on a message board?

You call it "employer harassment" after dialing agencies to register questionable complaints.  You're digging your own grave, poster.

As previously indicated, if you don't like the answers, talk with an attorney.

Laymans guess:

I'm not sure what the fuss about the paragraph is about--be careful!

In general you have a 15 day window to get the forms back or else you are in big problems. And you negotiate with HR may just run out your clock !

There is a generic form  WH380E commonly used  --for all I know the employer can attach a 500 page copy of the policy manual and a company history back to 1812 in  their section  BUT the rules say they cannot ask YOU for more information than is required in various  Federal Regs.

They can use any form they want--provided it meets the regs..and does not go too far as to your side of equation. ..

And I fail to see where they can put words into the health care providers mouth/pen....now in reality a lot of this stuff get signed the expedient way ---but IF your health care provider crosses out the words which do not apply to his or her  areas of professional knowledge , initials same and you get the forms back with the rest of the applicable information TIMELY --so be it?

There is no "fuss about a paragraph," Drew, and it wasn't directed to you.  It is, however, an FYI to the OP that if she wants to get sarcastic on a board, that SOME of us read beyond what is posted.  And, we understand that there are at least two sides to every story.  It doesn't take a "layman" to understand that.  

bsosna:

Others in my position are allowed to work from home.  I found this to be a reasonable accomodation under the ADA.

However, as cbg and others have said that is not the accommodation that the employer has to provide to be in compliance.  If there is an adequate substitute they may do so for business reasons. They do NOT have to give you that accommodation because YOU believe it is reasonable.

bsosna:

The company has refused to work with me so when the EEOC wanted to know if I was willing to mediate with the company, I refused since I had tried to work with the company for over 5 months for an amicable solution.

Refusing to mediate because they wouldn't give you what you wanted is never a good idea.

The physicians office doesn't care WHAT the employer wrote on that form beyond your name.  What they have to fill out is your reason for FMLA, how long you will need it, and whether it is continuous or intermittent.  You are making WAY more out of this than is necessary.  The ADA request for accommodation is separate from any FMLA issue and should be documented separately by your physician as working from home is not FMLA.