[owlyn]

This sounds perfectly legit to me. Your condition has prevented you from doing a certain type of work. In fact, you admit that your original work plan has not changed, but you can't do those tasks now.

We just had layoffs at my place. The guy next to me, who is younger, healthier, and not paid as much as I am got laid off, whereas I did not. I don't know the reasoning, but I know that while our job titles were similar, I have more experience, knowledge, and skills and can perform a wider range of tasks.

In you situation, you cannot perform the tasks needed as well as someone else. It is unfortunate, but I don't see where the employer did anything wrong.

[Smokebomb]

Originally Posted by DeusXM

Given that your employer assigned you different duties purposefully to accommodate those needs (which arguably go beyond the scope of the employers responsibility), it sounds to me like they were trying to work around your condition - the downside being that you had to be moved into a more 'disposable' position.

Now, if more than one of you were doing the same job, you may have grounds for legal redress if they cannot demonstrate that those kept on were doing a better job than you. However, you've said that you were doing a job that work-study students were doing, presumably for a lower wage than you.

Thanks. I was never actually moved to another "position," and others with the same position in the department works under other supervisors. I was expected to perform the type of work that was at the work-study student level (I did not share the same tasks with any others), even though the written summary of my actual responsibilities called for work that I was in fact able to perform (which uses my intellectual skills). However, I eventually wasn't allowed to take part in ANY of the scientific work (which was no.1 on my priority list), and because I was forbidden the opportunity to do ANY of it (even that which didn't require visual acuity) I received very low scores on my performance reviews. I should not have been scored according to something I was not given to do. What I was allowed to do at that job was actually determined by the bitter supervisors who became very abrasive once I decided I had to do what I had to do during the work day to manage my diabetes. Just because I had to take more time (and I certainly made up for it, or did it during a time I could "multi-task") to maintain my blood sugar levels and be more cautious of what I did, seemed to come across as being a liability, I wonder? Or seen as a disability? That's how I felt.
I could, most certainly, perform most of the tasks, except the one that looking inside a petri dish for some time after laser surgeries due to color contrast), but there were so many things on the workplan that I was able to do, so many experiments that were being done that I could have done as sufficiently, as I was doing it. I worked for tyrrants anyway, it was like being in a concentration camp, and they watched every move I made... It was the happiest day of my life, to be honest, when I found out that I would only be suffering there one more month. hahahahah...HAHAHAHAHAH! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAH !!!!

I don't care anyway now. I will do what I have to do, whether its at home or at work or wherever, to keep my health up. In the beginning of my employment there, I would not test as often, wait for my sugars to get really high and feel dehydrated and sick, or low, but decided that the work to help make them idiots famous (famous to who? All the other anti-social nerds, apparently) is not worth my health. So, yeah, I decided to make my health first priority. I'm ready to do something where what I do, regardless of the number of times I stop for 1-3 minutes to keep myself healthy, will be for a good cause, and not for some superficial, to make someone rich and famous, cause. Unfortunately, there is not much of those types of jobs these days.

[Smokebomb]

Originally Posted by owlyn

In you situation, you cannot perform the tasks needed as well as someone else. It is unfortunate, but I don't see where the employer did anything wrong.

I understand that, given the only information that I did. But there is a lot more they have done, and not to myself, but to every other member in the lab, and nobody besides myself actually was there for more than 2 years. Everybody else (students and staff) was terrorized by these people, everybody was unhappy. Everybody had problems they discussed amongst one another, and nothing could be done because nobody had the balls to report to HR, and besides it did no good, because (I will not go into that). It's really a bad environment to be in, but what's so good now is that I have somehow had better blood sugar levels since leaving them. (less torture and less emotional abuse = better diabetes)

[Smokebomb]

Originally Posted by Smokebomb

As my eyesight worsened (I have gone through rounds and rounds of laser treatments for the advanced aggressive retinopathy), a lot of the work I was involved in became harder to perform, as it required visual acuity (I worked in biological research lab), and at times, after the laser treatments I would try to be very careful physically and it would take longer for me to complete some tasks, or I would have to ask someone else to help me... (breathe)

Eventually, my job responsibilities changed because (I feel) it was more difficult for me to sufficiently perform the work.

The work I was origonally expected to perform was not limited to the particular tasks that I wasn't able to do -there was so much more that I could do, and DID do sufficiently, but I think they were discriminating against me. And because of a few minor problems, they gave treated me as incompetent.

IF I PISS ANYBODY OFF......
SORRY!

[genie86333]

Originally Posted by Smokebomb

The work I was origonally expected to perform was not limited to the particular tasks that I wasn't able to do -there was so much more that I could do, and DID do sufficiently

Unfortunately however, you've said you were not able to perform the entire job which you were hired to perform, which meant they had 3 options while you were still working there:

#1 hire someone else (which costs them extra money) to do part of the work you were hired to do

#2 ask someone else to do their work plus part of yours (which probably meant more hours on each paycheck for them, again costing the company more money)

#3 not do anything & the work doesn't get completed. (which obviously isn't a real option for any business)

I do feel for you that the job didn't continue for you, but that's business - unfortunately, we don't live in a time anymore where it's small family run companies that will keep on an employee that can't do the job anymore just because they're like "part of the family." (Admittedly, there are still a few places like that, but it's the exception these days.)

I'm not saying you weren't discriminated against in how they treated you, like your taking time to test/treat was bothersome, but if you can't do the job...the entire job for which you were hired...well, that's what disability is for.

[Smokebomb]

Yeah, without the adequate accomodations they should've provided, it made it quite difficult, I agree! (The work was completed in a timely manner, however)

BTW- after my eye treatments, I would be ordered by the doc to take it easy (no bending, straining, etc) for 3 weeks. Therefore, I would accomodate myself, meaning find alternative ways to do things that required certain motions. For example, sitting in the chair instead of bending over (with my head exploding due to pressure) to rearrange items under a counter...
Or, requesting someone who walks by to quickly grab a 30 lb tray from a shelf (takes 3 seconds, and for the ones I would ask, no problem, no big deal)

And, I happened to be the only American in that group. Hmm, Americans are "lazy..."
Actually, I was an American who used their right to a lunch break.
Our lunch breaks were to be flexible, yet we were glared at as though we were criminal, or just lazy, when we took a 10 minute LUNCH break (at our desk) during the 10-12 hours they had us working. Then another 5 minute break 3 hours later.... (I mean, is that too much to ask for???)

F*CK that S#*T

[Luke]

I have run into this problem. While you have people tell you "they can not discriminate", and while that is true, they will always find a reason to CTA.

I have had this problem in job interviews as well. Things going well, then I tell them up front I'm diabetic, and my regiment of having to check my sugar every two hours due to being a brittle diabetic, and then it turns into "we will give you a call", and of course, they never call.

I was put out of the US Army shortly after being diagnosed as well. Medical Discharge.

[genie86333]

Originally Posted by Smokebomb

Yeah, without the adequate accomodations they should've provided, it made it quite difficult, I agree! (The work was completed in a timely manner, however)

Ok, then that's a whole new ballgame - you said before you couldn't do the work, not that you couldn't do it without reasonable accomodations...In that case, I see your point totally.