Consequences of asking for accommodation
July 30, 2020 11:28 AM Subscribe
What factors should I consider in deciding whether to ask for an accommodation at work? I have been WFH since March. They now want me to come back in unless I have an accommodation through HR. Unbeknownst to them, I have cancer and could probably get one. It’s not an aggressive cancer and I’m not currently in treatment. It might not actually be an enhanced risk, but I bet my oncologist would give me the documentation I need. What are all the possible downsides of doing this?
Does your employer:
have a history of supporting employees in need?
Do they have a fund to help employees down on their luck?
Are you hourly, or salaried?
How effective are you at home vs at work?
How much is the goals of the executives at risk if you continued WFH?
posted by bbqturtle at 11:47 AM on July 30, 2020 [2 favorites]
have a history of supporting employees in need?
Do they have a fund to help employees down on their luck?
Are you hourly, or salaried?
How effective are you at home vs at work?
How much is the goals of the executives at risk if you continued WFH?
posted by bbqturtle at 11:47 AM on July 30, 2020 [2 favorites]
Depending on the wording of the WFH accommodation, you may not be able to come into work even if you want to. If you suspect you might want to come in for an important meeting or some crucial (or fun) aspect of your job, make sure the wording reflects that. I had one and I had to get more documentation in order to come back to the office.
posted by beyond_pink at 12:36 PM on July 30, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by beyond_pink at 12:36 PM on July 30, 2020 [2 favorites]
I was just updating the Employment/Unemployment section of the MeFi Wiki Get a Lawyer page, to add more resources that I have recently seen in the news. I think a consultation with an employment law attorney in your jurisdiction can help best answer your question according to the laws that apply to you and your employer and your specific situation. In the Disability section of the MeFi Wiki Get a Lawyer page, there are also resources listed about reasonable accommodations that offer additional information, including the Job Accommodation Network (JAN), which has a section of their website focused on reasonable accommodations related to COVID-19.
posted by katra at 1:13 PM on July 30, 2020 [4 favorites]
posted by katra at 1:13 PM on July 30, 2020 [4 favorites]
I'm having a hard time coming up with a downside to requesting this accommodation assuming your job can be performed at home (which it sounds like it can be since you've been doing it for a few months already) and assuming your job is not just straight-up evil. I suspect that many of your coworkers are going to be scrambling to find an accommodation, but "cancer patient" is probably a designation that sets you apart. Your HR department is going to see a request by your doctor, see the word "cancer," and not even think twice about it and grant your request. Can you imagine the PR problem that would result if your office told you, a person living with cancer, to come back to work or lose your job, especially if your job can and has been be performed remotely?
I could see some social negative repercussions if you opt to keep your diagnosis confidential, especially if some of your coworkers that want to stay home cannot, or are denied accommodation. You will probably always be water cooler talk, like, "Why is anonymous able to stay home, they look healthy enough when we're on Zoom." If you give no shits about what people are saying about you, disregard!
It's possible that HR might ask you, if they legitimately care about you, whether you have any other ongoing needs around your cancer diagnosis that they can help you manage. For example, I suspect my HR department would also send me information about FMLA leave including instructions of intermittent FMLA leave, accessing disability, and more. The gracious thing to do, if you aren't in need of this information, is to thank them profusely and let them know that if you need to use any of those resources you will let them know right away, but that right now you are doing okay as long as you stay home and stay away from others.
You never have to tell people the details of your cancer diagnosis, whether it is being currently treated (or not), how you are treating it (or not), whether it is aggressive or not, etc. Not ever. That is your business, full stop. You may wish to look into how the American Cancer Society frames out their work with the ADA for more information on whether your situation is relevant.
posted by juniperesque at 1:55 PM on July 30, 2020 [4 favorites]
I could see some social negative repercussions if you opt to keep your diagnosis confidential, especially if some of your coworkers that want to stay home cannot, or are denied accommodation. You will probably always be water cooler talk, like, "Why is anonymous able to stay home, they look healthy enough when we're on Zoom." If you give no shits about what people are saying about you, disregard!
It's possible that HR might ask you, if they legitimately care about you, whether you have any other ongoing needs around your cancer diagnosis that they can help you manage. For example, I suspect my HR department would also send me information about FMLA leave including instructions of intermittent FMLA leave, accessing disability, and more. The gracious thing to do, if you aren't in need of this information, is to thank them profusely and let them know that if you need to use any of those resources you will let them know right away, but that right now you are doing okay as long as you stay home and stay away from others.
You never have to tell people the details of your cancer diagnosis, whether it is being currently treated (or not), how you are treating it (or not), whether it is aggressive or not, etc. Not ever. That is your business, full stop. You may wish to look into how the American Cancer Society frames out their work with the ADA for more information on whether your situation is relevant.
posted by juniperesque at 1:55 PM on July 30, 2020 [4 favorites]
the trouble with disclosing a cancer diagnosis is not your actual disability so much as the possibility of your employer perceiving you as disabled.
i also have cancer and had to ask for accommodation of my employer while undergoing treatment. your mileage will of course vary, but my employer responded by telling me that someone in my role (support engineer) shouldn't need it, and pushed me to go on disability. when i refused (i lived alone and my job was both my source of income and precious health insurance), they started complaining i was a performance problem and put me on a PiP. i had to get an attorney involved to get them to desist, which had its own negative ramifications. i didn't have a disability above and beyond the effects of treatment, so they were clearly in the wrong. still, the only way i could get them to stop manufacturing pretext to terminate me based on my perceived disability was to have my lawyer write them a letter spelling out how they were in violation of the ADA.
i no longer work there and am currently job hunting. it's occurred to me to mention to potential employers the hit my career took thanks to my former employer's response to my illness, but everything I've read says that cancer patients who choose to disclose their illness during the interview process are far less likely to be called back. it's gross, unfair, and a sad reality those of us who are ill have to contend with.
bottom line: if you feel it will be a danger to your health to return to work now, by all means request accommodation. if you think your employer will respond with empathy and fairness, this is the best bet. if you think there's a chance they'll take this as an opportunity to single you out as disabled (whether you are or not!), then avoid telling them for as long as you can.
i'm sorry you have to worry about this, and i hope your cancer continues not to be serious!
posted by hollisimo at 2:37 PM on July 30, 2020 [2 favorites]
i also have cancer and had to ask for accommodation of my employer while undergoing treatment. your mileage will of course vary, but my employer responded by telling me that someone in my role (support engineer) shouldn't need it, and pushed me to go on disability. when i refused (i lived alone and my job was both my source of income and precious health insurance), they started complaining i was a performance problem and put me on a PiP. i had to get an attorney involved to get them to desist, which had its own negative ramifications. i didn't have a disability above and beyond the effects of treatment, so they were clearly in the wrong. still, the only way i could get them to stop manufacturing pretext to terminate me based on my perceived disability was to have my lawyer write them a letter spelling out how they were in violation of the ADA.
i no longer work there and am currently job hunting. it's occurred to me to mention to potential employers the hit my career took thanks to my former employer's response to my illness, but everything I've read says that cancer patients who choose to disclose their illness during the interview process are far less likely to be called back. it's gross, unfair, and a sad reality those of us who are ill have to contend with.
bottom line: if you feel it will be a danger to your health to return to work now, by all means request accommodation. if you think your employer will respond with empathy and fairness, this is the best bet. if you think there's a chance they'll take this as an opportunity to single you out as disabled (whether you are or not!), then avoid telling them for as long as you can.
i'm sorry you have to worry about this, and i hope your cancer continues not to be serious!
posted by hollisimo at 2:37 PM on July 30, 2020 [2 favorites]
Followup from the anonymous OP:
have a history of supporting employees in need? Unanswerable due to new leadership. Strong push by at work by administration to fully reopen despite being in a hot spot and a high risk sector, lots of pushback from employees, tensions running highposted by LobsterMitten at 3:35 PM on July 30, 2020
Do they have a fund to help employees down on their luck? No
Are you hourly, or salaried? Salaried
How effective are you at home vs at work? Perfectly effective at home, and on-site employees are being instructed to use Zoom/phone/email etc. whenever possible for all communications and meetings so I would just be teleworking from my office there as opposed to my office two miles away in my house.
How much is the goals of the executives at risk if you continued WFH? Well one of their goals is to have the appearance of business as usual so it subverts that. Otherwise my work supports their goals exactly as it has always done.
OP, your follow-up makes it seem as though disclosing your illness would potentially turn out badly for you.
if you can at all manage it, don't disclose your cancer. these folks don't sound like the type to want to be empathetic, even during a pandemic.
look for another place to work if possible. it's hard to find an employer who values their employees in a meaningful way, but harder still to try to earn a living for a place that has the potential to see your illness as a weakness they can exploit.
posted by hollisimo at 3:41 PM on July 30, 2020
if you can at all manage it, don't disclose your cancer. these folks don't sound like the type to want to be empathetic, even during a pandemic.
look for another place to work if possible. it's hard to find an employer who values their employees in a meaningful way, but harder still to try to earn a living for a place that has the potential to see your illness as a weakness they can exploit.
posted by hollisimo at 3:41 PM on July 30, 2020
Does your documentation have to come from your oncologist? Can you get it from your PCP where it just states that you have a condition that requires you to work from home without disclosing what it is? They shouldn’t need to know your actual medical diagnosis (it could be asthma for all they know which is still a valid reason in these times). I would try to document without disclosing.
posted by Jubey at 6:05 PM on July 30, 2020 [8 favorites]
posted by Jubey at 6:05 PM on July 30, 2020 [8 favorites]
Does your documentation have to come from your oncologist? Can you get it from your PCP where it just states that you have a condition that requires you to work from home without disclosing what it is? They shouldn’t need to know your actual medical diagnosis (it could be asthma for all they know which is still a valid reason in these times). I would try to document without disclosing.
I would try this first.
posted by medusa at 8:39 PM on July 30, 2020 [4 favorites]
The problem is that no one who doesn't know your workplace and your relationship with your employer will be able to really say what would happen. You don't specify what country you are in. Most countries do have laws that require employers to accommodate serious health conditions like cancer, but those laws will differ by country, including on how much you may or may not be required to disclose to access accommodations. Also, as with all things, laws are only as good as the enforcement, and there may be issues to consider that are relevant to your personal situation.
Cancer and Work is a Canadian website with a rich set of resources, including information on disclosure and a checklist of issues (PDF) to consider when disclosing.
Cancer + Careers is an American website that addresses many of the same issues, but will be more relevant in you are in the US (as it will talk about the ADA and American law) - they also have information about disclosure.
Macmillan Cancer Support from the UK also has a website addressing work and cancer that also includes sections on employment rights there.
If you are elsewhere, I may know of relevant resources (I did a systematic search for worldwide, publicly available English language resources regarding disclosure and accommodations for several health conditions, including cancer, in 2017); please feel free to memail me if you are interested.
posted by jb at 9:00 PM on July 30, 2020
Cancer and Work is a Canadian website with a rich set of resources, including information on disclosure and a checklist of issues (PDF) to consider when disclosing.
Cancer + Careers is an American website that addresses many of the same issues, but will be more relevant in you are in the US (as it will talk about the ADA and American law) - they also have information about disclosure.
Macmillan Cancer Support from the UK also has a website addressing work and cancer that also includes sections on employment rights there.
If you are elsewhere, I may know of relevant resources (I did a systematic search for worldwide, publicly available English language resources regarding disclosure and accommodations for several health conditions, including cancer, in 2017); please feel free to memail me if you are interested.
posted by jb at 9:00 PM on July 30, 2020
Sorry - that sounded harsh. I didn't mean to imply that you should have told us more, I just wished to stress that disclosure and its results can be so idiosyncratic based on the organization, the personal relationships of those involved, etc., such that I couldn't guess as to the consequences. At my workplace and with my relationship with my direct manager, there would be absolutely no negative consequences. Actually, when I did disclose a health issue last year, I was offered accommodations I didn't even know existed. But my organization and my direct manager are very much outliers as to how much they pay attention to issues of health and disability rights, because we are in a related sector. Another organization might be very different.
posted by jb at 9:06 PM on July 30, 2020
posted by jb at 9:06 PM on July 30, 2020
I could see some social negative repercussions if you opt to keep your diagnosis confidential, especially if some of your coworkers that want to stay home cannot, or are denied accommodation. You will probably always be water cooler talk, like, "Why is anonymous able to stay home, they look healthy enough when we're on Zoom." If you give no shits about what people are saying about you, disregard!
I actually could see some social negative repercussions to going in even though a doctor is telling you not to, because the potential chains of transmission are increased with each additional person in the office. Each person who can stay home can make the office environment safer for those who can't stay home. If there is a lot of pushback from employees already, it seems unlikely that they will resent you for making the office safer for them by following your doctor's advice.
And I apologize for my US-centric answer above - your question seemed like a US kind of problem from my perspective, but as an fyi, there are a few legal resources listed on the MeFi Wiki Get a Lawyer page for the UK and Australia that may be able to offer consultations or referrals.
posted by katra at 12:18 AM on July 31, 2020
I actually could see some social negative repercussions to going in even though a doctor is telling you not to, because the potential chains of transmission are increased with each additional person in the office. Each person who can stay home can make the office environment safer for those who can't stay home. If there is a lot of pushback from employees already, it seems unlikely that they will resent you for making the office safer for them by following your doctor's advice.
And I apologize for my US-centric answer above - your question seemed like a US kind of problem from my perspective, but as an fyi, there are a few legal resources listed on the MeFi Wiki Get a Lawyer page for the UK and Australia that may be able to offer consultations or referrals.
posted by katra at 12:18 AM on July 31, 2020
I'm having a hard time coming up with a downside to requesting this accommodation assuming your job can be performed at home
Employers trying to quietly get rid of people who have cancer is absolutely a thing. I was skeptical until it happened to me. I mean, they can’t list “Has cancer” as the official reason for dismissal, but I worked in HR long enough to understand that you can trump up reasons for getting rid of anyone, regardless of what the actual reason is.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 8:25 AM on July 31, 2020 [2 favorites]
Employers trying to quietly get rid of people who have cancer is absolutely a thing. I was skeptical until it happened to me. I mean, they can’t list “Has cancer” as the official reason for dismissal, but I worked in HR long enough to understand that you can trump up reasons for getting rid of anyone, regardless of what the actual reason is.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 8:25 AM on July 31, 2020 [2 favorites]
This is (at least in the circumstances that I am pondering the same thing) is more of a cultural question than a legal question. Legally there shouldn’t any retaliation. But teachers know that there’s a lot that admin can do without crossing that line, and even if they do, satisfactory resolution may not be practical or possible.
Some ideas: If the admin that are new to your school have histories at other schools, you may be able to do some social engineering and find info from their previous staff. If your school is part of a larger district that regulates HR, your chapter leader or someone with a broader view may be able to give you insight on the culture of the district and how much leeway is given to individual school admin. You also need to know who will (both officially and unofficially) be able to know the contents of your application/note itself. In some districts, the school admin might only be able to see whether your request was approved - not what it was based on.
Given that past cancer is not currently considered an underlying condition that increases severity per the CDC - which is what some schools are using for accommodation determinations - I think your best bet (if you go forward with this) is to get a letter that is as nonspecific as possible. Depending on your district’s policy and bureaucracy, they may well reject an application based on cancer regardless of the documentation described by your doctor.
Also fwiw, I have heard of multiple teachers in my area whose doctors refused to write notes for them despite them having conditions on my district’s list. Based, apparently, on the doctor’s own sense of fairness or the needs of the school district. (This is in a heavy hit blue region, too). It doesn’t seem right, and maybe with time could be successfully fought. But I wouldn’t advise any teacher to take for granted getting an adequate doctor’s note regardless of their apparent entitlement.
I had cancer recently too, maybe similar to yours. My oncologist has been consistently saying that current evidence does not put me at higher risk - due to that - and it’s not on the CDC list or any lists that I know of. But maybe you’ll have more success with your doctor and district.
I’m sorry, this sucks. I don’t think any teacher should have to be in this position.
posted by Salamandrous at 11:20 AM on July 31, 2020
Some ideas: If the admin that are new to your school have histories at other schools, you may be able to do some social engineering and find info from their previous staff. If your school is part of a larger district that regulates HR, your chapter leader or someone with a broader view may be able to give you insight on the culture of the district and how much leeway is given to individual school admin. You also need to know who will (both officially and unofficially) be able to know the contents of your application/note itself. In some districts, the school admin might only be able to see whether your request was approved - not what it was based on.
Given that past cancer is not currently considered an underlying condition that increases severity per the CDC - which is what some schools are using for accommodation determinations - I think your best bet (if you go forward with this) is to get a letter that is as nonspecific as possible. Depending on your district’s policy and bureaucracy, they may well reject an application based on cancer regardless of the documentation described by your doctor.
Also fwiw, I have heard of multiple teachers in my area whose doctors refused to write notes for them despite them having conditions on my district’s list. Based, apparently, on the doctor’s own sense of fairness or the needs of the school district. (This is in a heavy hit blue region, too). It doesn’t seem right, and maybe with time could be successfully fought. But I wouldn’t advise any teacher to take for granted getting an adequate doctor’s note regardless of their apparent entitlement.
I had cancer recently too, maybe similar to yours. My oncologist has been consistently saying that current evidence does not put me at higher risk - due to that - and it’s not on the CDC list or any lists that I know of. But maybe you’ll have more success with your doctor and district.
I’m sorry, this sucks. I don’t think any teacher should have to be in this position.
posted by Salamandrous at 11:20 AM on July 31, 2020
Mod note: This is an answer from an anonymous commenter.
You mention a new administration, do you by chance work in the public sector? How strong are labor protections at your workplace? How invested are you personally in your job? A lot of the previous answers assume you want stay at your job on good terms. I am here to remind you that not giving a fuck can also be a viable option.posted by cortex (staff) at 2:11 PM on August 5, 2020 [1 favorite]
I work for a union-dominated state agency where it is very hard to fire people. It is really easy to work the bureaucracy to your advantage, IF your only concern is staying employed and you don't care about pissing people off or limiting advancement opportunities. Obviously how few fucks to give is a very workplace and personally specific decision. I know someone who has been actively suing her manager and department head for four years, and all three have still been working together in the same positions for the whole time. I can't imagine working like that for so long, but evidently she's decided it's worth the awkwardness.
I've been thinking about your question for several days now because my agency is also currently going through a lot of upheaval, including new leadership that is desperately trying to look like they're in control of the situation (LOL) and management decisions that are clearly driven by politics and appearances rather than facts. As a classic overachiever with crippling impostor syndrome, it goes against every fiber of my being to game the system and purposefully do the bare minimum to avoid getting fired. However, since the agency isn't dealing with us in good faith, I think it is OK to do the same to them if it becomes necessary for my own well-being.
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by j_curiouser at 11:31 AM on July 30, 2020