Complicated Situation

Got stuck in a situation where I had to quit my job (the reason being I have epilepsy had a seizure, live an hour away from work and now can't drive for six months, reality). Now I don't know what to do as far as getting a job. I live in Seattle, the fastest growing city in the country, but it seems like all the jobs here are system engineers. I know my way well enough around Windows but not to troubleshoot issues that people are having and don't know Linux. Have my CCNA R&S and Collab and want to go down the network path but it seems like all those jobs from what Indeed says are in Cali and East of the rockies. My parents are now on my tail as they should be for me to get a job but I'm not seeing anything or getting responses from places I apply.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

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Comments

Fulcrum45

That's rough, man. Sorry to hear. My nephew had a similar situation and couldn't drive for 6 months. Was your old job unwilling to accommodate you somewhat? Maybe let you work remotely or something or at least give you a leave of absence. I know that doesn't pay the bills but you shouldn't have had to quit over it.

You're going to have a tough time without a car no matter what. I would look for remote positions if you can. Otherwise, if you can get one of these SysAdmin jobs (and the commute isn't too difficult) maybe gut it out for 6 months or so till your back behind the driver's wheel. Just a thought.

paul78

I'm sorry to hear that you had to quit your job. Is the work that you do able to be accomplished from home? A lot of netadmin work can reasonably be done remotely. I realize that you already quit - but I hope that your employer at least attempted in good-faith to provide a "reasonable accommodation" under the ADA - if you are unfamiliar with employment law - this is a good link that applies to your situation - https://www.eeoc.gov/facts/telework.html

Given that your skill set is generally one where you can work from home - there are non-profit organizations that can help you. One that I am familiar is NTI - link here - NTICentral | The Leaders at Placing Americans with Disabilities in Jobs - I don't know if they focus on IT but I had come across them in the past. You could contact them and even if they cannot help - they may be able to refer you to another organization.

One other area to explore is cloud administration - in particular devops. Your skills is likely transferable. Perhaps focus on AWS. You could familiarize yourself using the myriad free videos and create a free AWS account.

Good luck.

sipsamurai

My manager wanted me to look into taking a bus to work. This would have taken me approx. three hours each way so I said I was going to step down. They weren't accommodating at all which I thought was pretty bad on their part.

sipsamurai

Yea, I could have easily of remoted into the network but that's not what they wanted so I split paths. But it is what it is I guess.

sipsamurai

Thanks Paul,

Wish I had known about that document earlier. It may come in handy later on.

paul78

Can I strongly suggest that you contact your state DOL (Department of Labor) and/or the EEOC. There should be a number on the EEOC page. Depending on the situation - the burden of compliance may rest with the employer. It depends largely on the size of the company that you worked for but it's a bit odd that disability wasn't offered to you.

It's unfortunate that you had to quit. I hope that at least your employer worked something out so you can collect unemployment - in many states - if you resign - you cannot collect unemployment.

sipsamurai

I might consider, I have to go return my laptop tomorrow so I'll see if they have to say anything.

paul78

I should clarify - calling the DOL and EEOC isn't necessarily to file a complain - but they are often very helpful in helping you wade options and helping you with understanding your rights as an employee.

bigdogz

What if you took an Uber in to work 3 days and worked remotely the other 2 days?
It would be a compromise. I guess it's too late in any case.

shochan

Get some medical mary jane to get that epilepsy under control! Sorry to hear dooder!

EANx

The Americans with Disabilities Act, As Amended states that "The law requires an employer to provide reasonable accommodation to an employee or job applicant with a disability, unless doing so would cause significant difficulty or expense for the employer." https://www.eeoc.gov/laws/types/disability.cfm

It might not hurt to make an appointment with HR while you're there to discuss how the company may have violated the ADAAA and that the EEO and/or a court might not view you stepping down as entirely voluntary since your former supervisor insisted on your physical presence. Let them know they all you want to do is contribute, that you have no desire to make trouble. If you get your job back, you could be a target so be sure to do your job to the letter. If you are targeted, the EEO, frowns heavily on employers who perform retribution on employees.

joelsfood

Remember with all of these suggestions that your lack of ability to drive yourself into work doesn't really involve any kind of accommodations by the employer, as your commute isn't something they have control over. If the job isn't really setup for remote work (either that position in particular or the company in general), there's not much they can be expected to do about your commute, and all a suit or complaint is likely to do is cost you legal fees. TE members are IT professionals, not lawyers, so take any legal advice with a large rock of pink Himalayan sea salt.

IronmanX

joelsfood wrote: »

a suit or complaint is likely to do is cost you legal fees. TE members are IT professionals, not lawyers, so take any legal advice with a large rock of pink Himalayan sea salt.

A complaint to the above mentioned organizations is not going to cost him anything.
Mentioning it to HR might get them to make some sort of arrangements. Sounds to me like the conversation was just between him and his superior and neither are aware of the employees rights in this case. Maybe "rights" is the wrong term to use as in this case depending on the organization they generally have policies and boast about there ability to be an accessible work place.

sipsamurai

I'm not going to take this into any kind of lawsuit. I talked to them yesterday, they want me to keep in touch and have me come back in six months. Which I plan on doing. But what would you all suggest on doing in the meantime?

EANx

Did you mention your disability to the HR person and that you specifically made a request for accommodation? You have to file a complaint with the EEO commission within 180 days of the date the discrimination took place. It's interesting how they're asking you to come back a few days after that deadline expires. Filing a complaint is not filing a suit in civil court, it's an administrative action with either your state or the federal EEOC.

When it comes to matters of illegal discrimination, you can take a close look at all of the tools in your tool box or you can quietly walk away. There's nothing wrong with either decision but don't think there's some sort of middle-ground where people will suddenly do the right thing.

beads

Nearly every large market has a disabled ride share program designed to accommodate situations such as this. Also check into Uber/Lyft/taxi/ride share services as well. Understand this is a 6 month loss of license but given a little creativity you can find a ride to almost anywhere. I mean I have given rides to Amish neighbors and they have a whole network ride share programs out in the middle of nowhere yet still manage to get to all kinds of manufacturing jobs.

- b/eads

the_Grinch

Yeah definitely options you could have pursued in lieu of quitting. I agree I would have definitely spoken to HR about it as they would be in a position to direct you (and your manager) on the next steps. Definitely contact the DoL and EEOC along with your state level organizations. Doesn't mean you have to file a complaint or get litigious, but it seems to me they did not handle the situation in a proper manner. Your manager should have consulted with HR immediately upon hearing about your medical issue. I also tend to think HR would not be too happy with this situation.

10. What other types of reasonable accommodations may employees with epilepsy need?

Some employees may need one or more of the following accommodations:

breaks to take medication
leave to seek or recuperate from treatment or adjust to medication22
a private area to rest after having a seizure
a rubber mat or carpet to cushion a fall
adjustments to a work schedule
Example 7: A library schedules employees to work eight-hour shifts starting as early as 8:00 a.m. and as late as 1:00 p.m. A librarian with epilepsy, who experiences nocturnal seizures that leave her tired in the early morning, requests that her shifts start in the late morning or early afternoon. The employer determines that because there is sufficient staff available between 8:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. to respond to requests from the public for assistance, the accommodation can be granted without undue hardship.
a consistent start time or a schedule change (for example, from the night shift to the day shift)
Example 8: A home nurse rotated from working the 7:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. shift to the midnight to 8:00 a.m. shift. His doctor wrote a note to the employment agency indicating that interferences in the nurse's sleep were making it difficult for him to get enough rest and, as a result, he was beginning to have more frequent seizures. If eliminating the nurse's midnight rotation would not cause an undue hardship, this would be a reasonable accommodation.
a checklist to assist in remembering tasks
Example 9: A box packer frequently had absence seizures23 while packing boxes and forgot what he was doing. The supervisor created a checklist for each step of the job. Now, when the box packer has a seizure, he simply looks at the checklist to see what steps he has completed.
permission to bring a service animal to work24
someone to drive to meetings and other work-related events
permission to work at home
reassignment to a vacant position if the employee is no longer able to perform her current job

https://www.eeoc.gov/laws/types/epilepsy.cfm