Everyone is saying I should sue my former employer...do I have a case?

[GaiaGoddess]

None of which changes the fact that the ADA does not apply in this situation and there is no other law that grants you legal recourse, either.

Well what good is the ADA then if they can't help you in situations where your disability affects your life negatively? Ugh.

 

[justalayman]

GaiaGoddess;3311595]One week of training and it would have taken me a week to drive there so that's 2 weeks total of hardly any sleep. You can get a ticket if you are driving while too tired, or worse, kill someone if you fall asleep driving. I couldn't take that risk. It's bad enough just driving one state away, across the country would have been much worse.

are you serious? If you have to be active at night and sleep during the day, then you drive at night and sleep during the day. It would take you the same amount of time to drive at night as it does at day.

your excuses, well, they're simply excuses, not reasons.

I have had to work mornings a few times at past jobs, but it was only one day here and there, not many in a row. I can handle one day but the more consecutive days the worse it is.

again, excuses.

Sleeping pills don't work with this disorder. When I went to the hospital they gave me 2 different pills, one was Ambien and one was something harder that I don't remember the name of, but neither one did anything. That is why this disorder is such a pain in the ass, any "cures" they try to give us don't work.

here is a list of methods to attempt from the Cleveland Clinic:

How is DSPS treated?
Treatment for DSPS involves the following:

Good sleep habits. Children and adolescents with DSPS need to do everything they can to develop and maintain good sleep habits and a steady sleep schedule. Habits should include going to bed and waking up at the same times on weekends as on weekdays; avoiding caffeinated products (eg, coffees, teas, colas, some non-cola pops, energy drinks, chocolates, and some medications [Excedrin®]); avoiding other stimulants and products that can disrupt sleep (eg, alcohol, sleeping pills, nicotine); maintaining a cool, quiet and comfortable bedroom; and avoiding activities before bedtime that are stimulating (eg, computer games and television).

Shifting the bedtime schedule. Treatment for DSPS can involve one of two methods: advancing or delaying the internal clock.
Advancing the internal clock. This method simply moves the bedtime a bit earlier on each successive night until the desired bedtime is reached. For example, setting the bedtime at midnight on one night, 11:45 p.m. on the next night, 11:30 p.m. on the following night and so on. This is facilitated by concomitantly moving the wake time to allow this transition to occur with more control. These methods are best individualized with the help of a sleep specialist.

Delaying the internal clock (“Chronotherapy”). This method moves the bedtime sequentially 1-3 hours or more later on successive nights until the desired bedtime is reached. This requires several days free from social activities and may be best attempted during a long school break or vacation period. The thinking behind this strategy is that it is much easier for the body to adjust to a later bedtime than an earlier one. Again, this is best done with advice from a sleep specialist.

Staying motivated to stick with the schedule. It is especially important not to lose sight of the goals during holidays and weekends. Adhering to strict bed and wake times keeps the body’s clock under control but does not "cure" the tendency for delayed sleep phase. Once the desired bedtime/wake time is reached, your child or adolescent must stay motivated and stick with going to bed at the desired bedtime on a nightly basis in order to reset the internal clock. Only after several months of adhering to the schedule can there be some flexibility allowed on special occasions. However, efforts should be made to wake up close to the prescribed wake time to keep the rhythm going, regardless of when the adolescent goes to sleep.

Bright light therapy. Some physicians recommend bright light therapy, which requires the purchase of special light box. Exposing your child to bright light for approximately half an hour in the morning helps to reset the body’s internal clock. Reduced exposure to bright light in the evening also helps. Your sleep doctor will be able to suggest commercially available light boxes and the correct method of use.
Avoidance of light at night. Any screen time with a back light (hand held devices, computers, TV etc.) can theoretically delay the sleep rhythm and make it harder to go to sleep. These should be avoided in the few hours prior to bed time, especially when trying to shift the rhythm.
Medications. Melatonin or other natural sleep-inducing drugs are another option that may be tried with the help of a sleep specialist.

did you notice they actually said you can reset your internal clock?

 

[GaiaGoddess]

are you serious? If you have to be active at night and sleep during the day, then you drive at night and sleep during the day. It would take you the same amount of time to drive at night as it does at day.

Hotel checkout times are before noon, so I can't sleep during the day when i'm travelling.

your excuses, well, they're simply excuses, not reasons.

again, excuses.

This is a common reaction from people who don't understand, we get it all the time. So I understand that you think they're excuses but if you talk to others with this condition, they say the same things. There are support groups for it for this reason, because of the social issues we have to deal with with people not understanding.

here is a list of methods to attempt from the Cleveland Clinic:



did you notice they actually said you can reset your internal clock?

Did you notice they said it "does not "cure" the tendency for delayed sleep phase."? They put the word cure in quotes because the "cures" are not really cures, they're just things you can try to help it seem not so bad, but again, if you talked to a large number of people who have this, the majority will tell you nothing works for them.

Also, the method of slowly adjusting your bedtime earlier by one hour each day wouldn't work for me because I don't have 12 days to adjust an hour each day to get to where I need to be. My schedule would have changed abruptly, in one day. You can't slowly adjust something immediately.

 

[justalayman]

So another excuse. Sorry but you can sometimes arrange with a hotel for a shifted day or you just pay for two nights. If you want to keep finding excuses, you can. If you want to find solutions, you can.



And I love how you say "WE" like you are some fraternity or something. I have fought with exactly what you describe. I don't go and whine to a doctor about it because it does no good. If I do not have a schedule, I find myself awake at 3-4-5 in the morning. I do what I have to in life. That's what is called being responsible.

 

[Ohiogal]

Didn't that lady win who sued McD's because she spilled hot coffee on herself? If she can win, anything less should be a piece of cake.

This shows your ignorance. You have no clue about the details of that case. You have no clue about the law of that case. Educate yourself:
http://www.lectlaw.com/files/cur78.htm
https://www.ttla.com/index.cfm?pg=McDonaldsCoffeeCaseFacts

Get third degree burns on your vagina and see what you think that is worth. Would you like to see pictures of her injuries?

 

[OHRoadwarrior]

Trust me, they did not go hard enough on the types of sleeping pills available. Halcion works good for irregular terms to catch up, but taken daily I started seeing red behind my eyelids until I fell asleep. You do not appear to be that bad so they never went into the more serious treatments.

 

[cbg]

The ADA is designed for long term and permanent situations - NOT situations like you are describing.

 

[>Charlotte<]

So another excuse. Sorry but you can sometimes arrange with a hotel for a shifted day or you just pay for two nights. If you want to keep finding excuses, you can. If you want to find solutions, you can.

I make a lot of travel arrangements, and very rarely do I come across a hotel where early check-ins aren't available. Often as early as 11:00 a.m. Sometimes there's a fee (around $25), but not always. Check in at 11, sleep all day, check out that night, and you're on your way.

 

[commentator]

There was no reason you should not have signed up on unemployment benefits. In fact, it would be stupid NOT to sign up on unemployment benefits. They are not needs based, as I said, they are eligibility based, regardless of your income or family income. But yes, in this case, (as in any case where you leave work not of your own accord) your co worker was right, you did need to sign up. Now whether or not HE got approved, rehired, etc., sets no precedent. "They ALWAYS" find against the employer is probably a great generalization on this gentleman's part, I notice he has suddenly become a great expert on unemployment matters because he got his claim approved. Uh yeah, by the way, once he was approved, they were very happy to invite him back, as his drawing benefits were affecting the amount of unemployment taxes they were having to pay. You may find them begging you to come back to work in North Dakota if you are approved for benefits.

And what I have said is that I do not think your chances of being approved for unemployment are too bad. They have asked you to up and relocate in another area, and in another state. Regardless of what you have signed or agreed to consider, there's a pretty good chance they're not going to consider this a reasonable change in work location, and just may approve your claim. Part of the reason they "always" find against this employer may be that the unemployment system does not consider it reasonable to fire people for refusing to transfer to someplace far far away, regardless of what they've asked you to sign or agree to.

What I was trying to say is when you deal with unemployment, leave all this stuff about your sleep disorder OFF the menu. Don't try to carry on about how you have this condition, and you just didn't have any idea they were going to give you the shift you need and you can't attend the week's training they had mentioned, and yada yada yada. They do not care. As I said, they're not going to give you the sympathy vote, they just want to hear the facts of the situation. You will gain nothing and may complicate the issue if you try to whine and gripe and go on about how badly you've been treated. Just say you refused the transfer to Texas and were fired for it.

It is certainly not their venue to worry about whether the ADA is applicable in this situation, or whether there's a support group for your condition, or whether you could get an early check in at a motel.... all they're going to hear is that you are refusing certain days, hours and shifts, and that's not a protected job situation. You'd have to see and consider any appropriate job offer you got before turning it down in order to qualify for unemployment benefits, and there's no point it getting all this kettle of worms stirred up before you've even been approved for benefits.

 

[Silverplum]

Do you have to pay a lawyer if you lose?

LOL!

Yup.

 

[GaiaGoddess]

So another excuse. Sorry but you can sometimes arrange with a hotel for a shifted day or you just pay for two nights. If you want to keep finding excuses, you can. If you want to find solutions, you can.

I have tried asking hotels to accommodate this and they all say the most they can do is give me a later checkout which is never later than one extra hour which is still 5 hours earlier than the time I normally get up. And I stay in hotels on average of 6 nights every time I travel, if I paid for 2 nights instead of 1 every time I'd be spending all my savings. That isn't practical.

And I love how you say "WE" like you are some fraternity or something. I have fought with exactly what you describe.

You have DSPS too?! lol I doubt it, or you would know about our "fraternity", which we need to help us feel understood when dealing with people like you.

I don't go and whine to a doctor about it because it does no good.

It isn't whining, it's called going to the doctor to get a diagnosis, and you have no idea how much relief it gives people because they finally know there is a cause, it isn't laziness or insomnia like everyone thinks.

If I do not have a schedule, I find myself awake at 3-4-5 in the morning.

People with DSPS find themselves awake at 4 am EVERY NIGHT, regardless of their schedule. That is the difference.

I do what I have to in life. That's what is called being responsible.

And I am doing what I have to, which included refusing to be forced into a situation that would put my health at risk as well as anyone on the road with someone who has been awake for 24 hours. I have worked 84 hours a week for the last 3 years, don't call me irresponsible.

 

[GaiaGoddess]

This shows your ignorance. You have no clue about the details of that case. You have no clue about the law of that case. Educate yourself:
http://www.lectlaw.com/files/cur78.htm
https://www.ttla.com/index.cfm?pg=McDonaldsCoffeeCaseFacts

Get third degree burns on your vagina and see what you think that is worth. Would you like to see pictures of her injuries?

You don't have to be a jerk about it, I simply hadn't heard all the details, as i'm sure most people haven't. That was all I ever heard was that she just sued them for her being clumsy. I could call you ignorant for not knowing a lot of things you haven't thought to research.

 

[GaiaGoddess]

Trust me, they did not go hard enough on the types of sleeping pills available. Halcion works good for irregular terms to catch up, but taken daily I started seeing red behind my eyelids until I fell asleep. You do not appear to be that bad so they never went into the more serious treatments.

Every pill has at least one side effect, which is why my doctor told me it's safer to work your life around this rather than take a bunch of pills which sometimes don't work and almost always create other health issues. The reason why they never went into more serious treatments with me was because with my job there was no leeway. He wanted to try altering my schedule by an hour each day but that was impossible since I worked 12 hours every day and had no choice in what hours I had to sleep. He wrote the note to my employer saying the best solution is to work nights.

 

[GaiaGoddess]

The ADA is designed for long term and permanent situations - NOT situations like you are describing.

But the disability IS long term and permanent, i've had it since I was younger than 8 years old. It usually starts in adolescence and gets worse as you get older.

 

[GaiaGoddess]

I make a lot of travel arrangements, and very rarely do I come across a hotel where early check-ins aren't available. Often as early as 11:00 a.m. Sometimes there's a fee (around $25), but not always. Check in at 11, sleep all day, check out that night, and you're on your way.

Yes you can check in early IF they have rooms available. A few times I even had reservations and they wouldn't let me in until 3pm. Besides, driving at night isn't safe either, you get highway hypnosis and it's also not safe to stop at gas stations in the middle of the night for a single female especially in parts of the country unfamiliar to you. It's also winter which adds another factor, it's unquestionably safer to drive during the day.