Legal Question in Employment Law in California

Stress On The Job

Recently, I accepted a higher position at my job which entails more responsibility. When I took the position, one of my duties was calling the WCAB Hearing Boards to confirm court dates. Later, I was now told to speak to the judge's secretaries on each and every case to confirm what I was just told previously by the receptionists. Some of the judge's secretaries are less than pleasant over this and have told me that the receptionists are there to cut down on the number of calls to them and that all they would do would be to look at the same computer system the receptionists look at and have banged the phone down on me.

I have told my supervisor that what they want me to do is wrong but she remains inflexible. Now, I'm beginning to suffer stress-related problems over it such as lost sleep. One of the medical problems I've suffered from is temporary loss of memory (mostly the ability to remember names) which has happened to me four times.

My question is this. I plan to discuss this with my supervisor. If I tell her that the stress she's submitting me to can worsen my medical problem (which she's unaware of) and she refuses to budge, what rights do I have? Can she fire me for refusing to perform this duty?


Asked on 11/27/05, 8:29 am

2 Answers from Attorneys
Robert F. Cohen Law Office of Robert F. Cohen

Re: Stress On The Job

Refusing to do your assigned duties is called insubordination and it is a ground for termination (although most all jobs are at will, anyway). Perhaps you can talk to the head clerk at the hearing board, and have that person call your supervisor to explain. Obviously, your supervisor had a bad experience and missed a hearing, so you now have to bear the brunt of it. The only other recourse is to make a stress claim in the worker's compensation area. I'm sure you're familiar with that procedure by now.

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Answered on 12/02/05, 9:04 pm
Patrick Turner Patrick E. Turner Inc. APLC

Re: Stress On The Job

Failure to perform the lawful directives of your employer would be a basis for termination. However, you mention a medical condition in your question. You should consider speaking with your health care provider about your job duties, and together determine if some or all of the job duties are worsening a "disability" as defined under California law. If so, your health care provider may recommend that your job duties be modified to accommodate your disability, and enable you to continue to perform the "essential functions of your job."

If the employer terminates you for requesting an accommodation, you may then have a claim for disability discrimination and failure to accommodate. The first step, though, is to determine how your job duties affect your health with the assistance of a professional.

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Answered on 12/02/05, 10:00 pm


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