Doctor's Notes and compliance

So, pretty basic question and I can't seem to find any good information online. Hoping some of you ladies can help me with this one...

Today I was written up by my employer and the district manager of my company for taking excessive breaks during my shift. My doctors have said that I need to be able to sit and get off my feet whenever I physically feel the need to do so. I haven't provided a doctor's note to my employer regarding this, but hadn't felt I necessarily needed to until my situation today. I believe it was retaliation towards me after having issues during my last shift on Tuesday night. I was cramping quite heavily and was concerned and felt I should go to the hospital to make sure that everything was okay, and my employer would not allow me to leave my shift, as she was unable to find someone to cover me and was unwilling to do it herself (even though I believe that's her responsibility as a manager of the store I work in)... So I was doing a fairly poor job that particular night due to the fact that I was in a lot of pain and discomfort and could not be relieved of my duties, and took a couple of extra breaks to sit down during my almost 7 hour shift. My boyfriend waited in the lobby during my shift for me to get off so that we could go to the hospital immediately after my shift was over.

During the shift, my notoriously rude and unpleasant manager happened to upset a customer by yelling at a co-worker in front of the customer and her son. She asked who she should make a complaint to, seeing as how the complaint was about the highest superior in the store. I handed her a napkin with the number to our corporate headquarters. During the time I was being written up about my breaks, there was a significant amount of talk regarding this corporate complaint and basically pinning it on me as my fault because I gave the customer the corporate number.

When I came to work this morning my manager and district manager wrote me up.

My question is, if I DO bring in a doctor's note stating I need to sit frequently, does my employer have to comply with my doctor's restrictions and orders? If they don't can they actually get into legal trouble over it? And how much trouble can they get into for retaliating against me, and making me feel singled out while I am pregnant? Any idea what proof I would need to provide if I went for discrimination accusations against them?

Any help would be very much appreciated, if anyone has any clue about this.

Specifically whether an employer is actually required to comply with doctor's notes when provided. Thank you!

 

I'm not sure on all the legalities of this. But I do know that I was in a similar situation. When I was about 8 weeks to 16 weeks I had such bad nausea and vomiting that I was hospitalized twice for 3 days each time. I work as a nurse in an urgent care setting, so you'd think my supervisor would understand. Unfortunately all they saw was 12 hour shifts that needed to be filled. One of the doctors I worked with started giving me things to do so I could sit while working instead of running around like crazy (calling patients back with lab results, working on referrals, etc) and the other girls in our office complained about it so my supervisor basically told me to quit being lazy. Even though every time I stood up I threw up. My doctor had actually told me to take some time off of work if I wanted, but as my husband had recently been laid off...I was the sole bread winner for our family at the time.

Everyone there eventually ostracized me and made me feel like crap, talking behind my back. Making me out to be a lazy employee rather than someone who truly and honestly was sick. Eventually the week before Christmas I just quit. My husband told me he was tired of seeing me come home crying every night and it wasn't worth it.

I'm sorry you're going through this. Some employers focus so much on the hours on the timeclock and the running of their stores that they forget they have actual PEOPLE working for them that have needs, too. I'd talk to your doctor about it and let her know that your work is being difficult and is there anything you can do.

 

I am frustrated on your behalf that your colleagues are not behaving professionally and that you are in this situation. My advice is to:

Submit a doctor's note to your manager and HR (do you have an HR department?)
Document the dates, times, personnel involved and details of the suspected retaliation and submit to HR. Retaliation is illegal but sadly so common.
Continue to stay above the fray and start thinking about a Plan B.

I am sorry that I do not have time to write more. Am feeding my new twinkies. Am sure you will get lots of good advice from posters here.

One last note, I find it so unnecessary that people create such hostile work environments. Argh.

Take care of yourself and your babies!

 

I work in HR...hopefully this will help. Google the Pregnancy Discrimination Act. That will give you some guidelines on what the EEOC views as "legal" and "illegal" regarding pregnancy and work. Basically, being pregnant in the USA is considered a short term disability and must be treated as such. If you provide your work with a Dr's note, you can then ask for "reasonable accomodations" for your work because of the temporary disability like more breaks or a seat where you work (not sure what you do exactly, but if you are a cashier or salesperson of some sort you could ask for a seat where you normally stand). I know it isn't fun thinking of pregnancy as a disability, but this is the only protection we have here in the states.

The downside to all this is that most states have "at will" status which unless in an illegal situation, someone can be fired for anything. This is why you need that Dr's note to protect yourself. Good luck!!!

 

Thanks guys! My employer won't fire me because their biggest fear always seems to be someone trying to collect unemployment wages from them - and I know I would be able to if they did, in my situation.

My boyfriend is looking into contacting his attorney over all of this, because we do have many things against my employer at the moment. She's made fun of me and cut me down while pregnant, she's told me basically to suck it up and do my job when I've mentioned being burnt out. She's constantly cutting me down and degrading me, and then this write-up occurring on the very next shift after the one where I wanted to leave to go to the hospital and she wouldn't let me... She's in dangerous grounds and she doesn't realize it. It's fast food, and I realize my job can't be cut down to "Light duty" but she can be understanding if I am uncomfortable and can't move as fast, she could stop asking me to lift 40lb boxes, she could let me sit for 10 extra minutes in my shift, and she could definitely have consideration for lifting limitations.

I've had TWO MISCARRIAGES working for this place in less than a year's time. I think it's rather ballsy of them to treat me like **** during a third pregnancy, especially a high risk pregnancy with twins and two previous lost children while working for them.

But my manager doesn't understand my concern and care for myself because she doesn't care about anything. She's had 4 miscarriages and 5 abortions, one abortion that took place right around the same time that I lost my last baby, then she asked me if she could have one of my twins when I found out we were having twins this time.

*sigh* this place is causing me way too much undue stress I wish it was just easier to find a new vocation while already pregnant!

 

I am so sorry! Your manager sounds like a real piece of work. I agree with Ladypotter--pregnancy is considered a short term disability and, while I'm no lawyer, it seems obvious that they need to accommodate you. Here's a website that might help:
http://www.workplacefairness.org/pregnancy?agree=yes

And here's something they say about performing duties while pregnant:

If you are unable to perform certain aspects of your job, such as heavy lifting or working with toxic chemicals, your employer must accommodate you to the same extent it accommodates other temporarily disabled employees, such as providing “light duty,” shifting certain job duties to other employees, or permitting transfer to a vacant position. For example, if a coworker disabled by a back injury subject to a lifting restriction was shifted to another position not requiring heavy lifting or was given modified job duties such that lifting was no longer required, a pregnant employee should be similarly accommodated. An employer may not single out pregnancy-related conditions for special procedures to determine an employee's ability to work, but may use any procedure used to screen other employees' ability to work. For example, if an employer requires employees to submit a doctor's statement concerning their inability to work before granting leave or paying sick benefits, the employer may require employees affected by pregnancy-related conditions to submit such statements.


So you definitely do need the drs note to start with and I would get that asap. And then I think making a log of everything your manager does is a really good idea. If you're able to talk with a lawyer, I definitely would do that as well. It's just a shame that it's come to this--it really does not need to be this way!!

 

Your situation sounds a lot like mine did when I was pregnant. I hated going to work every day because I hated my manager. Not only was she rude about all of my "exceptions," but she was also pregnant at the same time so it was a comparison the WHOLE time. I kept trying to get my doctors to take me out of work completely so that I wouldn't lose my job, but they wouldn't. They eventually wrote a note that stated that I needed a 15 minute break EVERY hour, no lifting more than 10lbs, and a stool to sit on while at the register. Now I worked at Starbucks at the time so the stool was pointless. I couldn't really sit on it. It was kind of like I leaned on it until a customer came up and I had to grab a pastry or make a drink.

Before I got that note, my manager was telling me I was going to the bathroom too much.. What the eff do you want me to do? Pee on myself?? And she told me I was taking too many "water breaks." Seriously what is wrong w/ 10 seconds to walk to the back and take a sip of my water?? I didn't do it while we had customers waiting in line and I never left the front if no one else was out there.
"
Like I said, I got that doctors note at about 22 weeks (had been trying for about a month). She "accommodated" but me was still sooooo rude. And complained about how she didn't get that stuff even though she was pregnant w/ one baby. 3 weeks after I got the note, I got so sick of the drama, that I quit. 4 weeks after that I went into preterm labor and ended up having my boys at 29 weeks.

 

WOW! I would have to start searching for another job. Your boss is unbelievable!! The abortion-thing explains it all...that's why she's such a jerk about your pregnancy! Definitely get a Dr's note and journal everything that happens. Even write down all the rude comments she makes to you and the date it was said. You cannot ever have enough information if you ever take this to court. I really hope things turn out well and the remainder of your pregnancy is healthy and AWESOME!

 

I am assuming the place you work is part of a chain. If so, you need to contact the corporate office regarding this manager. My guess is that they probably have procedures in place for pregnancy and disability and this manager is violating them. Most places have an anonymous line you can call to report this behavior. I would also contact the corporate HR department regarding their policies in your situation.

 

It's a Subway, and from what I've experienced, the corporate complaints drop next to the District manager who then deals with all corporate complaints. Corporate doesn't actually deal with them, they basically forward the problem on to the district manager who deals with it. And The district manager just talks to the store manager, who just writes people up when she's mad at them... No joke. And we don't have an actual HR department - Besides corporate for comments and complaints, the highest would be our owner, who didn't even have our Medical Leave Act paper posted in the store until after I was pregnant and said something about them getting in trouble for it.

I'm going to try to get in to my doctor's office today and ask about Doctor notes, but I'm not sure what to ask for exactly or how to ask for it, so wish me luck. lol.

But basically, there is nobody in the company I can get a hold of and be heard, or so that's been the case any time in the past and is the same way with customers who make complaints. It all trickles down, basically, to my manager which is the problem at hand anyway. Unfortunately, it's come to the point where I see no choice but to get legal over it - and that sucks, but I know that I am being wronged.

 

That manager sounds scary...especially the comment on wanting one of the twins. I would quit just out of concerns for my personal safety. I'm sure it would be frustrating to kind of give up on the situation, but it's not worth the risk being around a total lunatic during your pregnancy.

 

Good luck to you! Where I work, they only grant light duty for disability from on the job injury- so if I came in with restrictions, I would be sent home and not allowed to work. Actually, the day I told my work I was pregnant I just mentioned that my doctor doesn't think pregnant women should lift over 20 lbs. I didn't even have a note from her but was sent home and not allowed back until I got a note saying that I have no restrictions. So now I find out I have two babies and I'm only at 4 1/2 months- I'm kind of stressed because I know I'm now not going to be able to work as long as I had originally planned and it's not like you get double length disability for twins. Mine is a part time job (I have my insurance through them and have paid short term disability through them), but I also substitute teach. Obviously I can do that for a longer time, but I can't collect disability from one job (that won't accommodate with lighter duty) while working at another (even though that job IS light duty). So that is my dilemma. My point I guess is to be careful with restrictions if you want to be able to work in case it's not an option.

 

If you weren't collecting disability pay from the one job, would it conflict with working the other job? What would weigh higher in benefits? I'm having a ton of issues right now. Last night I was crying for hours about having to work with my manager, and I have to go at least 2 more months I think unless doctor says otherwise...
We just can't afford my time off to come so early, but I am getting so stressed and miserable at work that I wish there was a way out that wouldn't screw us up financially.
But my disability isn't paid, and if it was I could probably swing it. Like I said, weigh your options see what would benefit more, even if you aren't getting money from both work places.

 

Right now I am working everywhere- my insurance job that offers paid disability is with UPS and is part time. Obviously it's the most physically strenuous. I otherwise substitute teach (which is sporadic- only few days a week and helps financially but can't be relied on as it's not regular consistent hours) and work short 4 hour shifts at the public library a few Sundays a month. Neither of the other jobs are difficult and I could certainly manage them longer than loading and handling boxes for hours at a time. I'm not sure, being part time, how much paid disability I have but I think I will be out of work sooner now that we know there are two babies and I'm already getting uncomfortable at work some nights. They are accommodating to the extent they are able but there really are no truly light duty jobs at UPS. So yeah, we can't really afford for me to be off all work for months before the babies come because I will be staying home awhile after as well- and I would prefer to spend more time home after they are here before I go back to work. It's just kind of a dilemma because once I go on disability with UPS I don't think I can collect the disability if I work my other jobs even though I would be physically able to do those jobs- but I also can't rely on subbing because I don't get called regularly enough and therefore don't know how much I will be making each week. That and if I'm off too long, my health insurance lapses (I've seen it happen to so many people there- guys taking leave after their babies are born then they lose their insurance because of not working enough hours and it's always a hassle). I guess I just have to do what I have to do- school is out in a few months anyway so if I can keep it up at work for even two more months that would be ideal. And get on my husband's insurance also just in case mine gets messed up like it always seems to for everyone else.