<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>

Here is my original post, followed by abridged replies from the
professional to the [longer] personal:

Date:   Tue, 23 Jul 2002
Subject: /? Celiac and employment/disability law

Does anyone have the experience of losing work-time pre-diagnosis as
your health deteriorated, and then being threatened with termination?
Is this an issue that has been argued under the ADA? A friend of a
friend in her mid-50s is reportedly being threatened by a major
corporate employer in Arizona - lost a lot of work time, and it
probably cost employer a lot of insurance $ in futile searching
before they realized it was celiac. Don't know more details, but am
looking for others who may have struggled with these issues for
insight or competent legal referral. I would imagine her health would
be improving but I know sometimes the secondary health effects can
have lingering consequences, even after going GF.
Thanks
Jack
----
Now, the summary of replies.
First, the obviously stated replies:

She needs to see a employment/labor lawyer
-------------
The ironic thing is that now that she is diagnosed, her health will
improve and she will probably have fewer lost time days than the
average worker!
-------------
Wouldn't the (state) Labor Relations Board have the answers to this dilemma?
-------------
[The director of the state center for disability law where the friend
of a friend lives - who I coincidently know! - also asked the womean
to contact the center - Jack]

Then some professional opinions, followed by personal experiences:
-------------
It is unlikely that the woman you mention has a case under the ADA.
While it is not required that employees use a particular phrase "I am
requesting accommodations for a disability" for example they do need
to make it clear to their supervisor that they have a disability and
are making a request. These days the courts are likely to reason that
if the physician's did not know it was a disability how could the
employer know.

ADA Coordinator,
another major university
------------------

Make sure your friend looks into her rights under the Federal Family
Medical Leave Act.

Human Resources Analyst
Medical Management Program
a major university
---------------------

JUST ANOTHER OPINION
I believe it is protected under ADA, but only as long as the company
has made "reasonable accommodations". If the company has made
reasonable accommodations for her "disability" and documented those
accommodations and she cannot perform her job function, then her job
is not protected. Lawyers and courts decide want are "reasonable
accommodations" and a great deal of case precedent has been set
limiting the scope of the America's Disability Act. Case precedent on
the defination of "reasonable accommodations" and other like wording
in the ADA law would probably be very useful to see if her situation
fits with the law.

Children are more protected under the American's with Disability Act
because of the 1997 IDEA modification associated with ADA.

If her illness doesn't improve and she continues to have problems
most large corporations have disability insurance. Hopefully she
signed up for it. Under disability insurance she will most likely
have to prove that the illness will not allow her to continue
employment. Since most people improve on a Gluten Free Diet I'm not
sure this insurance is applicable. However, it will depend on how the
Disability Insurance is worded at her company. She is not eligiable
for Employer sponsered Disability Insurence if she is not currently
employed. Different policies have different guidelines. A lawyer's
advice is always helpful.

The Family Leave Act also protects her employment. If she is still
ill, she can protect her job by taking some time off work under this
Act. Unfortunately, it is unpaid time if she is out of sick or
vacation time. If she files with her employer under this act and she
can document her situation meets the Act's requirements, then her
employer must allow her to take the time off work. The Family Leave
Act allows consecutive days in a row to be taken off and can not be
taken here and there.

The company stance is most probably based on poor job performance or
excessive absences. Large corporations will be careful to document
verbal, written reprimands in preparation to not pay Unemployment
Insurance to her after they fire her. She needs to be careful to also
document everything she possibly can to establish that her job
performance was directly due to an illness. If she is fired then
Unemployment will not pay her if she can not make a strong documented
case about her illness and her effort to inform her employer. She
needs to get Doctor's notes for each and every absence and present it
to her employer. She needs to make sure she keeps copies for herself.

If she wants to pursue the ADA angle she will probably eventually
need a lawyer. But the words American Disabilities Act carry great
strength and make even large companies pause. BE CAREFUL before she
uses those words. The company will usually get very careful about
documentation, especially if they think she will fight to get either
Unemployment or establish ADA protection. Make sure she has a copy of
all written reprimands. If she can show doctor appointments
associated with the absences and other related documentation then the
stronger her case will be. If she has sufficient documentation she
may be able to talk a lawyer into taking her case and delaying
payment. Some lawyer's will take a case and gets paid only if he
wins. Usually the lawyer sets up a contract with the client saying
the lawyer receives ?% of the monetary reward. This is a way she will
not have to pay lawyer's costs especially if she doesn't have a job
and she looses the case. She will need to present a strong case to
the lawyer for them to consider taking the case on this payment
basis. Lawyers charging a large retainer fee and who bill by the hour
do not usually require evidence of strong cases.

The above all is just based on opinion, I have no experience with
Celiac and the ADA. I have a child with a disability and have tried
to understand the law.

Good Luck,
Experienced mom
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...continued

*Please provide references to back up claims of a product being GF or not GF*