[desperado]

I'm type 2 ands on insulin. I have ben at the counter waiting on customers alone and no other person around to help. I had a low one time . I was sinking to the floor the customer got help for me. I work for my husband so needless to say yes we keep a jar of hard candy in almost every part of the building now.
BUt if you have to "fake a restroom visit" I would do what it takes to keep you okay.
I like the idea of using an empty prescription bottle maybe to put your candies in . I believe it was on this board a long time ago some one said they carried Sweet Tarts in the tiny rolls . Those really look like pills

[GinaLynn]

I have heard some out there things but this tops them all

I have been a type 1 diabetic for 18 years, and i have never had the troubles or encountered the stupid stuff that you are dealing with. ...if i were you i wouldn't abid by the "policy" and would worry about taking care of myself! If you would get fired or written up or have anything that is held against you because of low blood sugar- I am sorry but that is beyond discrimination but is just plain stupidity- and i would have a lawyer on hand!

Plain and simple if you don't address your low blood sugars you can't do your job- therefore you would get written up because you are not doing your job! I am very fired up right now

I wish you all the best and keep us updated on the situation

[Subby]

I saw that footage tonight of a woman collapsing in a hospital waiting room somewhere in the US and the other waiting people, security guards etc, ignoring her prostrate on the ground. She died after they eventually bothered to check on her - too late, according to the report. It was just horrible, it shows you can be in the wrong place at wrong time, and the unthinkable can happen.

It made me think of this issue and thread. Always, keep what you need on you, and I would be concerned that finding ways to hide it/make it look like something else is asking for trouble (eg, to be taken as something else, to be thrown out, to be too hard to arrange sometimes, etc).

Follow the great bits of advice advice in this thread to clear this problem up in your workplace, its unethical and illegal and most importantly, dangerous to your life. The higher management should see sense, if no luck, get another job, it's too serious to just go along "being the victim". It's not just inconvenient, it's deadly.

[NJL]

Write two letters. One to your HR representative or equivalent and your State Attorney General describing the situation, while including as many specific events as possible. (Dates, places, others present etc...) Then confront your boss when you know the letters have arrived in the right places. You should notice an immediate attitude adjustment at the very least.

[UpNorth]

Sounds like you and your fellow T1 workmate should take that policy and shove it up the managers behind! That policy is dangerous for both of you! A diabetic on insulin should ALWAYS be allowed to have something sweet around in case of a low!

[DanG]

I don't like all the lawsuit talk - lawsuits rarely accomplish what you desire. Lawsuits usually end up doing harm in many other ways. Take this attitude - it is your health, you gotta manage it, don't expect the employer to make special rules for anyone, or else they will need to make special rules for everyone.

I would just abide the rules of the company - in appearance (you gotta do whatcha gotta do - just don't broadcast it). If/when you need something, don't be blatant about your "fix" of the low that occurs. Just manage it like anyone else. I never let anyone know anything - not in 33 years. It is my problem and I don't expect anyone else to handle it for me. If/when I am gone to a very low hypo - well, then it may become someone else's problem. That has only happened at home, at night, so far... except for this incident...

One time I was hiking Long's Peak - a 14,000 ft peak in Colorado. I was thru the keyhole just below the summit and stopped and ate as much of my trail mix as I could get into me - in a hurry. Many other hikers passed by - I didn't feel like trying to make the summit, as I was feeling a bit frightened about the reality that I was in a condition that I could have fallen off the edge where I was resting and gobbled food - OOPS!!. That was 28 years ago - still here to tell the story, thankfully. I told nobody. I merely handled it as well as I could. Wonderful insulins those days - beef/pork lente... ahh... and testape.

Today - sometimes in the morning when I get to work, I see the white spots of death - low approaching. I break away from what I am doing and put some sugar in my coffee and be calm. White spots disappear, and then I can eat some more healthy food to assist in bringing the low back to where I need to be for working in an office.

Keep any "fix" needed hidden from the super. Don't push the issue - it isn't worth all the hassle you may cause yourself. If you don't like the rules - the super is correct - find a different place to earn money. Sure, the laws are on your side - you think. Test them - and you will find out, the rules are written for the people who own the money and do you no good in the end. Stay inside the rules - don't be testy with them.

[patricia52]

**** is correct. Laws usually protect those who have the most money and the least to lose. Try to stay within their rules atleast until you can find a better place to work. When you find that better job, you want them to give you a good letter of recommendation. While food and drink are prohibited, Glucose Tablets and Glucose Gel are consided medicine and use of either would not be interpreted as breaking the rules no more than chewing a Tums. Also if you were in an accident and someone found these items in your possession it might save your life. I carry Glucose Tabs in my purse. Even my granddaught knows what they are for.

[xMenace]

Get as much as you can in writing and take notes whenever something happens or is said.

Get yourself written up. It's best to get something on paper with signatures.

Your lawyer will have a field day with documented evidence.

Look for a new employer too. The 19th century is long gone!

[lelggren]

What would be really great is if you and the other person that you work with that also has D, could get together and make this case against your work if they don't start to comply. I can see if you are chompin' on a hard candy in front of customers/clients, but it seems like you are willing to respect them if they are willing to respect the fact that you don't want to pass out at work just because they are against treating low bg's.....Ask them if it is a company policy to not get sued.

Best of luck with this! I strongly encourage you to look into another form of employment. Really, if you were to sue them and then still work for them, your life would not be pleasant, I have the feeling. So, either way, I would say that now is a perfect time for a job search.

[Alice]

This sounds like the supervisor in question lacks knowledge...at least in this area. I would report this to not only the next superior in line, but to a total of 3 levels minimum. I've found that many levels protect each other...or try to brush what they fear is a lawsuit between the cracks.

By reporting to several levels of management, you are "educating" more people. Explain that you are not asking for any special treatment that is not beyond that of any other diabetic who is working hard and doing a good job.

I'd also probably try to find a new job with a more "progressive" company. But, that's my own opinion of working for boobs.

[Phonelady61]

Originally Posted by ****

I don't like all the lawsuit talk - lawsuits rarely accomplish what you desire. Lawsuits usually end up doing harm in many other ways. Take this attitude - it is your health, you gotta manage it, don't expect the employer to make special rules for anyone, or else they will need to make special rules for everyone.

I would just abide the rules of the company - in appearance (you gotta do whatcha gotta do - just don't broadcast it). If/when you need something, don't be blatant about your "fix" of the low that occurs. Just manage it like anyone else. I never let anyone know anything - not in 33 years. It is my problem and I don't expect anyone else to handle it for me. If/when I am gone to a very low hypo - well, then it may become someone else's problem. That has only happened at home, at night, so far... except for this incident...

One time I was hiking Long's Peak - a 14,000 ft peak in Colorado. I was thru the keyhole just below the summit and stopped and ate as much of my trail mix as I could get into me - in a hurry. Many other hikers passed by - I didn't feel like trying to make the summit, as I was feeling a bit frightened about the reality that I was in a condition that I could have fallen off the edge where I was resting and gobbled food - OOPS!!. That was 28 years ago - still here to tell the story, thankfully. I told nobody. I merely handled it as well as I could. Wonderful insulins those days - beef/pork lente... ahh... and testape.

Today - sometimes in the morning when I get to work, I see the white spots of death - low approaching. I break away from what I am doing and put some sugar in my coffee and be calm. White spots disappear, and then I can eat some more healthy food to assist in bringing the low back to where I need to be for working in an office.

Keep any "fix" needed hidden from the super. Don't push the issue - it isn't worth all the hassle you may cause yourself. If you don't like the rules - the super is correct - find a different place to earn money. Sure, the laws are on your side - you think. Test them - and you will find out, the rules are written for the people who own the money and do you no good in the end. Stay inside the rules - don't be testy with them.

Im sorry dan but if we all took your attitude nothing would ever get accomplished and we would still be living in the dark ages !!! Let me ask dan are you a supervisor for a company ? you sound like someone who is afraid to speak up at where you work . I m sorry but I am italian and irish and I learned long ago ,if you dont knock some doors down ,they dont come down . The only reason we have rights as employees is because someone else was not afraid to speak up and change things . The squeeky wheel gets the grease so to speak . Make noise that is the only way you will get heard .

[DanG]

Originally Posted by Phonelady61

I m sorry but I am italian and irish

I'm with you - except for the italian - I'm scotch and irish.

And, no - I certainly am not a supervisor. Common everyday worker guy - in a design office. But, I don't ever take an attitude of "rights" anywhere. Rights are given, if given - but to demand "rights" only makes enemies. I agree with others - I have the right to leave where I work - but I don't have the right to make my place of employment what I think it should be - not unless it is my place, i.e. I am not a mere worker, I am an owner.

So, I hide my diabetes as much as possible - big deal. It is not my prized t-shirt or necktie - it is a condition I live with. So, I live with it. To make others live with my diabetes is not my right to expect - so I don't expect it. I live with it like an ugliness - I hide it from as many people as possible - but I have a large family.

[vulnerable26]

Originally Posted by ****

I don't like all the lawsuit talk - lawsuits rarely accomplish what you desire. Lawsuits usually end up doing harm in many other ways. Take this attitude - it is your health, you gotta manage it, don't expect the employer to make special rules for anyone, or else they will need to make special rules for everyone.

I would just abide the rules of the company - in appearance (you gotta do whatcha gotta do - just don't broadcast it). If/when you need something, don't be blatant about your "fix" of the low that occurs. Just manage it like anyone else. I never let anyone know anything - not in 33 years. It is my problem and I don't expect anyone else to handle it for me. If/when I am gone to a very low hypo - well, then it may become someone else's problem. That has only happened at home, at night, so far... except for this incident...

One time I was hiking Long's Peak - a 14,000 ft peak in Colorado. I was thru the keyhole just below the summit and stopped and ate as much of my trail mix as I could get into me - in a hurry. Many other hikers passed by - I didn't feel like trying to make the summit, as I was feeling a bit frightened about the reality that I was in a condition that I could have fallen off the edge where I was resting and gobbled food - OOPS!!. That was 28 years ago - still here to tell the story, thankfully. I told nobody. I merely handled it as well as I could. Wonderful insulins those days - beef/pork lente... ahh... and testape.

Today - sometimes in the morning when I get to work, I see the white spots of death - low approaching. I break away from what I am doing and put some sugar in my coffee and be calm. White spots disappear, and then I can eat some more healthy food to assist in bringing the low back to where I need to be for working in an office.

Keep any "fix" needed hidden from the super. Don't push the issue - it isn't worth all the hassle you may cause yourself. If you don't like the rules - the super is correct - find a different place to earn money. Sure, the laws are on your side - you think. Test them - and you will find out, the rules are written for the people who own the money and do you no good in the end. Stay inside the rules - don't be testy with them.

You are correct in a lot of things you said, however I am the last person that will sue over this and also I am the last one to broadcast my diabetes. I am not looking for a lawsuit, I am looking for answers...anyway..

I was recently diagnosed and missed over 20 days of work this year due to hospitalizations. My boss is aware that I am diabtic because of that, I had to take a LOA. I am still in the process of regulating my insulin, and sometimes, I have problems.

I work in an office, that does not allow you just to get up. I am a relay operator for the deaf, my job requires you to be on the floor for 2 and a half straight hours. You must have permission to get up, most of the time it is not allowed. A simple bathroom break counts against me. Prior to diagnosis, I was called into the office and written up because I used the bathroom too many times.

We have supervisor constantly patrolling the floor, so anything I sneak, whether it be glucose tab or a drink will get me written up.

This was the point of my post. I thought there were certain rules that employers had to follow. I am not asking for special rights or accommodations.

I am in the process of looking for a new job but where I live it is very difficult. So in the mean time I was just asking my rights. And I will fight them, and if I get fired, so be it at least I tired. Especially for the other diabetics at my work place.

[Alice]

Okay...the gum...I agree with that one!

I bet you are a great employee. But, this one is going to need a little more tweaking for you to stay in this job. I don't see any reason why they would want to lose a good employee. You shouldn't have to find a new job. It is very clear. You may need to get help from an ADA advocate...if there is such a thing. Seeing that there are two of you in this boat...I'm a little worried for your safety in that environment.

[pegasus]

Originally Posted by vulnerable26

So in the mean time I was just asking my rights. And I will fight them, and if I get fired, so be it at least I tired. Especially for the other diabetics at my work place.

As others have said, you do have rights and they are spelled out in the federal Americans with Disabilities Act--jazzbo gave you a link that details them--which requires employers to make "reasonable accommodations" for people, including diabetics.

The question being addressed here then is less are there rules, but what must you do to invoke them in the best way possible for you and your coworker, and any other diabetics who work there. Your fighting spirit is lovely, and should stand you in good stead.

There is an organization in New York that's very familiar with these federal issues (so the differences in state law won't matter): the Center for the Independence of the Disabled of New York . They can give you a great deal of free advice.

Second, New Jersey has a department of human rights that should be helpful with this . NJ also certainly has a department of labor, with someone responsible for issues like this. I would check on the state of new jersey website and ask them. The New Jersey chapter of the ACLU might be helpful as well, if only to ask questions, whether you decide to bring a lawsuit or not.

The questions of, do we have workplace rights and if, when, and if so how, litigation should be used are big ones that we've talked about elsewhere on this forum. You've asked if you have rights, and you do. Invoking them with lawyers is best always used as a last resort, but the reason they're called lawyers is because they're here to help implement the law. Your rights.

It's breathtakingly ironic that your employer provides a service--an accommodation--for the deaf.

I'm also worried about your safety; please follow up on some of the suggestions you got on this thread--it really is a serious matter of your health and safety. You've only been diabetic a short while, and you have much to learn (and have found a great place here to learn it). Do take the advice in this thread as soon as you can.

Edit
PS: I am right across the river, so if you want to PM me for some more contacts, I'd be glad to help.