Telling work

So I'm going to start remicade in another week or so. Unfortunately the clinic doesn't have weekend or evening hours so I'm going to have to take off work. I'm planning to take the whole day off for the first dose or two, although my doc says I could go back to work.

Anyway--it's got me thinking I should tell work, and I suppose I'll have to fill out some FMLA paperwork. I'm a very private person, and really hate discussing things like this with work people. I've told most of my friends, and they are supportive. I guess I'm worried about any negative affects.

I'm sure y'all have discussed it before, but have you told your work? What did you tell them? I'm tempted to just tell my boss I have a chronic illness and am going to have to start getting treatments every 6 weeks, or so, and see if I can not go into the details.

Thanks!

Sarah

In the same boat office hour vs work wise, I had to tell my work to alter my schedule the night before remi so I could hit it on the way home from work.  They only do remi at my place mon and tues mornings and work those nights.  So far my job has been very supportive.  I had to come clean about it because of all the problems it was already causing me at work and getting to work on time.  They are acting like, whatever it takes to get you healthy we'll support.  Plus the vacation time I would have had to take would have formed a pattern, and they don't like seeing patterned vacation like that without an explanation.

You could just wait and see how things go. It might make sense to just call in sick those days, at least at first, and avoid the whole conversation until you have a better sense of how much time off you really need. An employer is going to be less unhappy if it's just 2 hours at the end of the day as opposed to an entire day or more.

If you end up needing to take a whole day every 6 weeks you probably are going to have to discuss the issue with your immediate supervisor so you don't get accused of abusing their policies about time off.

In that case I strongly suggest you carefully review the information in this document that discusses the difference between FMLA and ADA and what information an employer can ask for, what constitutes a disability under ADA and a serious health condition under FMLA and lots of other good stuff. You will see that the employer is NOT supposed to collect details of the health condition under FMLA, as happened to the other person who posted about this.

www.eeoc.gov/policy/docs/fmlaada.html

As you can see, normally you should not have to disclose anything more than that you require time off for medical care assuming you are going to use sick leave or vacation for your treatments. Just like you would for any other health condition you'd call in sick for but you are doing them the courtesy of letting them know you will be able to give at least 2 weeks advance notice of an expected absence from work.

When I had to be gone for regular medical appoints I had already have given some thought to ways that I could share my work load with a co-worker on those days. I offered to work a bit longer over several days to make up for the time off. But this was not legally allowed in my state without incurring overtime costs.

If you do this, you can offer your immediate supervisor this info (if you think wise) at the same time you are letting them know you will be taking a day off now and then for medical care. This may help ease your supervisor's anxiety considerably.

If they fuss about giving you time off then you may want to considering telling them you have a disability (no specifics should be required) that requires this reasonable accommodation and are they saying they will not allow you this reasonable accommodation? Preferably put this in writing and request a written reply...You are unlikely to get a written reply saying NO since this would be illegal.

They may want a doctor's verification in which case you can ask your primary care doctor (not GI) to write you a vague letter stating that you have a chronic disability that requires regular treatment. The doc should state that, because of your disability, you need a reasonable accommodation of up to 1 day off every 6 weeks.

Based on my experience, this should be more than sufficient information. If you have a Disability office at your employer you could approach them with this info and request for assistance. These offices are usually bound by privacy laws that prevent them from sharing health info beyond the certification to your immediate boss that you require accommodation. I would think of any other accommodations you need and have them included at the same time. No details unless it is necessary to provide the accommodation.

An example of this would be that you need a special chair to reduce your belly pain and you have to help figure out what chair to order.

Another common accommodation that may have to be requested depending on your employment situation is unlimited, untimed and self-determined bathroom visits assuming you have D. The Disability office doesn't have to tell them why you need bathroom visits, just that this is an accommodation that must be provided.

It depends on your company, your function within the company, etc.

If, as another poster said happened to them in the past, the HR department is sharing your personal CONFIDENTIAL information with others outside of that department, chances are you work at a bad place anyway. There are laws that protect you from that sort of thing.

Thanks so much everyone! It's a huge help finally participating here and having a place to bounce ideas/questions around. I've definitely been keeping too much to myself lately!

My workplace should be pretty cool with it, and I know my boss will be. I guess I worry more about what people will think than any repercussions. I think since this will be a regular thing (positive thinking all will go well!) that I'd probably feel better laying at a least a few cards on the table with my boss.

And I have to get over self-inflicted guilt that I'm going to be missing work to do this! Sometimes I think I'm more bothered by the inconvenience of the clinic hours than anything else! Unfortunately there's only one clinic in town. I'm a youth librarian, and so after school hours are very busy, and also full of activities. Once I feel comfortable with the infusion, hopefully I can just take the morning off and then go to work. For the most part I can flex time and taking sick time isn't a big deal. I just have to remember that it's more important to take care of myself than to worry about missing an afternoon at work!

Thanks again for sharing your experiences/opinions, and the link to the eeoc looks very helpful! And cupcakespinkgal, I'll have to look into home infusions. I had no idea that was an option, so I'll definitely be looking into that!

Sarah

Rlsnights, employers do require medical certifications under FMLA and this is allowed.  But, there are strict rules as to who can see this information and how it can be used.  If they didn't require medical certification, then anyone could say they need to take 3 months off for a "medical reason" and go to Cancun for a vacation.  I've been in HR for about 8-9 years and every employer I've worked at has had a Certification of Healthcare Provider Form that tells HR what the medical condition is and what dates you need to be off work.  But, this information can't be seen by the employee's supervisor, co-workers, basically anyone other than HR, and has to be kept in a separate file under separate lock and key from their personnel file.

 

I recommend telling your boss that you have a chronic health condition and need to take off for treatments, doctor's appts, etc. and then file for intermittent FMLA, if you are eligible, with HR.  I have seen way too many people hide these things and then get let go or reprimanded for calling in sick too much or always taking vacation days on a specific day of the week, etc.  It all depends on the company, as others have said, but a good HR department will not share the health information with your boss.  And, depending on how your boss responds to it, you can always share more later, if you decide to.  I have been victim to a supervisor who thought everyone on FMLA was taking advantage of the system and I got treated badly and I quit because of it.  Now I work somewhere that actually follows the rules and really protects people on FMLA.  And my boss's daughter has Crohn's, so she is great about it.  But, either way, you need to legally protect yourself, which entails filing for FMLA.