Legal Question in Disability Law in Washington
qualifying disabilities
Is Lupus and Fibromyaglia considered disabilities under the Americans with disabilities act. A friend of mine at work has both these ilnesses, and was recently given a letter of warning for her absences as she is out of FMLA hours. Is this type of discipline acceptable under this act? Thank you in advance for your prompt reply.
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: qualifying disabilities
Yes, they are. Your friend needs to talk with her human resources offices about how to obtain reasonable accommodations. This will, at the minimum, include obtaining a letter from her doctor stating that as an accommodation she will need to take additional time off. HR may want the doctor to review a job description, and may want her to see a doctor that the employer wants her to see in addition to her own doctor.
Your friend should have done all this before, but better late than never.
Whether the employer can give her more time off depends on a lot of factors, such as how easy or hard it is for the employer to cover for her when she's gone.
For more information, your friend can contact the WA State Human Rights Commission (a state agency) at 1.800.233.3247.
Merry Kogut
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