Yanno... I don't know why they call themselves "Human Resources". The truth would be Inhuman Resources!
I've been on FMLA for my fibro, which has gotten much worse in the past year, and as there was a company-wide schedule change, I'd asked for ADA accommodations, as well as a new FMLA form. They gave me a whole whopping 2 weeks for one of the forms and -I didn't realize until _after_ I'd seen my doctor- ONE whole week for the other. Can't remember which was which. Memory impaired here! I have no insurance. The company's never helped provide it, and now I don't make enough that I'd be able to afford it even if they did. I'm having to go through indigent care because I'm disabled and SSD is dragging their hind ends in the hopes that I'll become homeless or commit suicide before they actually do what I've been paying them for since I was 16.
The job description they included was so vague, my PCP had nearly nothing to go on. It's a high-stress technical customer support job, but all it said was customer support that requires long hours of sitting, which I can't do. The high-stress environment makes me fibrofog within a couple of hours max, and one can't do technical support when they have to say "you know, that box with the lights on it" because the word "modem" just won't come to mind. Or when I end up having to search for each word, and wind up talking very slowly... it's like having a stroke, and I'm honestly not sure sometimes if this actually is what's happening or if the fibrofog gets that bad... how would I know the dif?
So PCP said I can't sit for long hours and need frequent breaks. We all know fibro symptoms vary with weather, stress, lack of sleep and a slew of other factors.
I'd linked HR to the Dep't of Labor's fibro accommodations page to help them understand, but I'm starting to wonder whether their literate or whether their 4 year old reads my emails for them, because it seems pretty clear they haven't bothered to even try to read it. Even if they have, they can't seem to get it through their thick skulls that symptoms vary, and _really_ don't get that the higher the stress, the worse the symptoms wind up being. My fibrofog gets absolutely horrible when I stress out, and they've done nothing but add to it and make it worse. I wound up missing work today. It's almost 4am and I can't sleep, not just because I'm stuck thinking about what a stupid mess, but the pain is so bad it's hard not to cry.
After they gave my PCP short notice and a pathetic excuse for a job description, have been given my PCP's phone number, as well as the number for Voc Rehab -who were kind enough to _pay_ for the appointment with my PCP since I can't afford such luxuries on my own because I'm disabled.... and the link... well, here, perhaps it'll help someone else to have it, assuming there's an HR person on the planet who can actually read: http://askjan.org/media/Fibro.html
and my PCP also said in the reply to the forms "frequent breaks" "flexible hours" and specified can't sit for long periods, and no more than 2-4 hours a day. Now they're wanting her to clarify "frequent breaks" and "long periods" when my PCP has already specified 2-4 _flexible_ hours a day and I've already worked with them to do an hour at a time as my condition allows, which has allowed me to work a whole 4 hours more than half the time, and even more on occasion. If I do 2-3 hours straight, I'm shot and can't do it anymore that day and they know this. HR is trying to say they'll outright deny my ADA rights until they get it re-specified by my PCP, which is opening them wide up to being sued of course, since they already have all the info they need to start working with me and instead are _fighting_ me on it, causing stress/distress/anxiety and flaring the fibro to the point that I'm unable to work as a result. I told them to feel free to call my PCP for clarification, and called the Dr.'s office to let them know to expect a call -this is after rounds of trying to explain to them what the frell "flexible hours" and "varying symptoms" mean, and them acting as though they're completely illiterate. After several back and forth emails and having sent me into a horrible anxiety attack they said they wouldn't call the doctor but had sent a letter with their request... why the h-e-double-hockey-sticks didn't they just say that to begin with instead of causing me such trauma?!?! "We're wanting more info, so we sent your doc a letter asking for it" would have avoided all this, but instead they decided to give me some kind of horrible head trip! What is wrong with these people?!?!
They know I'm disabled and struggle to get through any part of a work day, yet they turn around and mess with my head needlessly to the point of causing panic/anxiety attack, have me awake thinking about it at 4am when lack of sleep makes it worse, and have flared the pain symptoms to the point I could scream... or cry... I don't know but gawd I wish I had meds that actually did something for the pain. I might take some old (and I mean _really_ old) vicodin just to try to get the pain under control enough to be able to get some sleep.
When a company pulls this kind of malarkey and tries to deny ADA rights, who can we call for help? I'm trying so very hard to keep it together while I wait for SSD to drag their tushes, and I don't have the energy to jump through these hoops and fight these fights on my own. It's too much and I'm about to reach a breaking point here... I need help, but I don't know where to turn for it. If anyone knows or has ideas, please, please reply. Thank you!