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To the anonymous poster, thank you. I understand your distress. Is getting
long term disability from Social Security a possibility? That might allow
you to work part-time, I don't know. Something to look at, but from what I
understand, you really have to hire an attorney to get it.
There is definitely quite a bit of discrimination for people who claim a
disability. I know someone who was laid off after having lung damage--on the
job--due to toxic chemicals left over from manufacturing residue in a
building converted to offices. She got severe asthma from the exposure, and
complained.
Thanks to Jodie for sharing the SIG information too. It's good information
to tuck away for a "rainy" day. One never knows when the same could apply to
us--things happen every day to change our circumstances.
Best,
PT
On 6/8/07, Jodie Gilmore <jgilmor -at- pacifier -dot- com> wrote:
>
> Wow - it seems it's my day to point out STC SIGs. There is another SIG in
> STC, the AccessAbility SIG (of which I was a charter member - I'm legally
> blind). It does precisely what you state - helps technical writers with
> various challenges/disabilities (pick your word of the day) with
> networking,
> resources, and in many other ways. It's a GREAT, supportive group of
> people!
> I highly recommend joining. You can join their discussion list, even if
> you
> aren't a member of the SIG. Visit http://www.stcsig.org/sn/, or contact
> the
> SIG Manager, Lisa Pappas, at Lisa -dot- Pappas -at- sas -dot- com for more
> information. Best
> of luck!!
>
> __________________________________
> Jodie Gilmore
> Fulcrum Communications, LLC
> Washougal, WA
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: techwr-l-bounces+jgilmor=pacifier -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
> [mailto:techwr-l-bounces+jgilmor=pacifier -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com] On
> Behalf
> Of TECHWR-L Administrator
> Sent: Friday, June 08, 2007 9:46 AM
> To: TECHWR-L
> Subject: FWD: Medical Disabilty/Contracting/Jobs
>
> Forwarded anonymously on request - please respond on list.
> Responses will not be forwarded back to sender.
> &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
>
>
> A few years ago, I started having medical problems that turned out to be
> adult onset of asthma. I thought "Oh, all I need is an inhaler and I'll
> be fine." But I continued to have attacks that sent me to the emergency
> room a few times a year. I went to a specialist and testing showed that
> my asthma was very severe. The effect of this is that I have chronic
> problems with fatigue and have periods of absolute exhaustion when it is
> difficult to wake up early in the morning. Two years ago, I had to go on
> short-term disability for a few months because my lungs were severely
> inflammed. When I went back to work, I had to have a workplace
> accommodation that said that I couldn't work more than 50 hours a week.
> This was fine for awhile, but when the accommodation was in place for
> six months, HR asked how much longer I would need it. The doctor said
> that it had to continue indefinitely. My manager then proceeded to end
> my job because she wanted someone in the position who could work more
> than 50 hours a week. I was also getting sick quite often because asthma
> affects your immune system, so I had used up all my sick leave and
> vacation time for sick days which is considered bad.
>
> I started contracting while I looked for another full-time job and I've
> basically worked five contracts in the last 1 1/2 years without finding
> a full-time job. I've had a few contracts that were supposed to lead to
> full-time jobs, but as soon as the managers figured out that I get sick
> a lot, they ended my contract. One manager told me it was a big red flag
> to get sick the first month on the job. At first, when I filled out the
> job applications, I didn't say that I was disabled, but after a few jobs
> were ended due to my illness, and after talking to my doctor about it, I
> started marking the box that said that I was disabled. I thought that
> would keep people from hiring me if they had a problem with an employee
> with medical problems. But so far, it doesn't seem to have helped me.
>
> The problem is that I only have nine months until my Cobra medical
> insurance ends, and at the rates that are charged for private medical
> insurance in my state, I wouldn't be able to buy the medical insurance
> and still pay my other bills. My income has also gone down because of
> sick days that I have to take, which I don't get paid for (although I do
> often make up much of the time during times when I'm not sick). I'm not
> sure what to do.
>
> The way that my medical condition affects my work:
>
> 1. I sometimes come in late in the morning during weeks when I'm having
> problems with exhaustion
> 2. I catch everything that goes around the office and I get sicker than
> other people
> 3. I can't work more than 50 hours a week or more than 10 hours a day
>
> Luckily, I write faster than other people so I have been able to get all
> my work done in spite of all the illnesses. But I think that managers
> get frustrated that I get things done very fast, then get sick, then get
> a lot of stuff done again, etc., because they see that if I didn't get
> sick so much, I would be producing at a much higher level than the other
> people. But there isn't much that I can do about it.
>
> I've tried to find jobs that will let me work from home because that
> keeps me from being exposed to people who are sick, so I have many fewer
> sick days that way. But I haven't had any luck finding a job like that.
> My finances aren't good enough right now for me to take a part-time
> position, although I might be able to do that in late 2008 when I have
> my bills paid off (I was a single mother for many years and I'm just now
> getting the last one out of the house). Or, I could try to find a
> manager who would let me work fewer than 50 hours a week and doesn't
> mind that I have a flexible schedule--my personal version of chasing
> windmills.
>
> So, does anyone have any suggestions for what I can do? Does anyone know
> if there's a Web site or agency that helps people search for jobs when
> they have a disability? I have so many years of experience as a tech
> writer and such a broad skill set that it doesn't make sense to start
> over in another field at this point in my life. Besides that, I have an
> English degree, so what else can I do?
>
>
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--
PT
pro -dot- techwriter -at- gmail -dot- com
I'm a Technical Technical Writer!
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