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Followup info: I was biopsy-diagnosed over 15 years ago, and it took a number of years of learning just how careful I had to be. My severe digestive issues abated with a (basically) gluten-free diet, but periodic neurological, emotional and cognitive symptoms were repeatedly confirmed to be coincidental with tiny changes - exposure to airborne flour, eating out a meal that was seemingly safe, etc. I didn't think I needed to be THAT careful, but continued with episodes that included severe emotional spells, muscle weakness that almost prevented me from walking up stairs, etc. I have repeatedly confirmed that if I buy a cup of coffee from a donut shop that makes the donuts onsite (therefore has airborne flour, etc.), the chance is nearly 100% that I will have a reaction. The difficult thing was putting together symptoms that may appear 1-2 days later. I did find that a medical style mask and other protective wear did not prevent severe reactions when in a bakery.
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Responses:
No, you and the company are protected by this action and the ADA. If they deny you or fire you then you get to sue.
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On one side, once you have a 504 or whatever he's talking about, if he tries to lay you off, it's discrimination. On the other hand, if the job requires the bakeries, he might pull that you're unable to do the job as required. Is the boss looking to make life miserable for you...looking for reasons to dismiss you?
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I've heard of people having trouble getting life insurance (on the listserv), but not health insurance.
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I suggest contacting the ADA administrator for your state for clarification.
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How sensitive are you? Do you have an anaphylactic response to gluten? If not, you might just be careful about the bakery environment and if you're really worried, wear a mask. I have a very sensitive response intestinally to gluten (and I have allergies) and have had celiac all my life. My mother was an avid baker and I used to help her in the kitchen with baked good growing up. Never had a problem. Sometimes handling flour made my fingers a bit itchy, but not other reaction. My mother was always strict about not using the same utensils/pans/etc for my things that she baked, but honestly, I never really had a problem at home. There was always a far higher risk eating out. We also grew wheat when I was a child and I used to help feed our animals wheat products--no problems (and a lot of the grain dust was airborne). So, unless you have anaphylaxis or are just extremely sensitive, I think reasonable precautions can be taken and you'll be fine. You might just try it and see how you do.
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I don't know about your workplace, but we're in a business climate where companies are looking to cut costs wherever they can. If you seem like a high-maintenance employee that makes it harder to do what they want you to do, it isn't always a good thing. I've seen some folks that I wondered very much if that made them a target when layoffs happened. I try to keep a low profile and don't ask for too much. My big thing is trying to avoid travel because it's really hard for me to eat safely, especially at big events where I don't know when or what I can eat, etc. and I don't want to be sick in a hotel somewhere. Always do what you need to do, but if you can avoid doing official ADA requests, I would. Not sure how an ADA filing would influence your health care costs.
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I believe that filing the request for accommodation is normal and having it official may actually protect you in the long run both physically and employment-wise. It probably should have been a requirement for you to file a long time ago as official justification for your assignments and under EEO.
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I wonder if the push to get the "accommodation" by your employer might work out for you in the future should there be lay-offs...you might be more protected.
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So, what precipitated this from your employer? Are there other people in your company making similar requests as you are and they are not diagnosed? That is definitely a trend that I have been observing over the last 2 decades. the early 90’s, which was a decade after I was diagnosed and CD was not well known and I did not have many problems eating out. However from watching the listserve for 25 years now ... it seems in the USA more employers are trying to split the employees with “real needs” from those with “perceived needs”. This is also happening in the classrooms too with 501 plans.
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I would meet with my employer and ask a lot of questions to try and figure out their motivation behind wanting you to fill out the accommodation request. It could be as simple as protecting you as a long term employee, being able to hire a part time employee due to your job changing and you are not able to go into bakeries (and they need that verified by a doctor), or to show some other people in your company (I do not know how big it is) that claiming gluten free as a reason not to do something such as inspect bakeries and a company has every right to ask for verification.
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and a comment that has nothing to do with ADA, but this is getting more common - unfortunately:
The gluten free craze has gotten out of control and it is not safe for me to eat in some restaurants that I have never had problems eating as a Celiac at before. This is primarily due to those who have read the Wheat Belly book informing restaurants incorrectly on what gluten free really means and how strict someone who eats gluten free needs to be The funny thing is generally those people are the ones eating the bread at the table (which they do not send back when served) when their dinner is late, as they made the restaurant clean and put foil down on their grill!
Many thanks to everyone who responded!
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