work place HR

[Abigg4]

I had a meeting with Hr not sure if my work is discrimination or retaliation. A month ago I told my work that I wanted to transfer and didn’t disclose my ADHD . There was a position same dept different location . I have been struggling with some tasks . Working on getting ADA accommodations. I was denied a that position. I also receive a email saying that if I continue to make mistakes I would be written up.

Last week a coworker told my boss that I said some things that are not true . In talking in a meeting with my boss and coworker she disclosed in front of her that I had a disability. Any thoughts ?

[PinkPanda23]

Sorry you are going through this! There's a lot to unpack:

1) You're having difficulty performing and have made mistakes.

2) You've been verbally warned these mistakes will get you written up.

3) You're pulling together a request for accommodations, but employer does not yet know this.

4) Your co-worker has lied about you.

5) Your co-worker has disclosed your disability.

6) You've been denied a transfer.

7) You've met with HR.

My first question is what was discussed with HR? Are they aware of your disability and coming request for ADA accommodation? Do you feel that the accommodations will enable you to perform your job responsibilities which are currently difficult? Are you only requesting the accommodations after being warned, or was it in process already? Is your supervisor willing to work with you, or have you lost their support? These are questions that pertain directly to you and your job.

Your co-worker's lies and disclosure of your disability are a separate issue that needs HR assistance. They will point out that neither affect your ability to do your job, but they do create a hostile work environment.

Unfortunately, none of the things you mentioned fall into the legal category of discrimination, but on your co-worker's part, they do sound like retaliation. And if your supervisor sides with them, certainly uncomfortable. It's very hard to work under these conditions, let alone be free of mistakes. The severity of the mistakes may be important, too. Are they small and easily fixed, or bigger and possibly expensive? If you get accommodations, do you believe you will be able to competently perform this job, or are you just hoping and trying to save a job that may be out of your competency?

You're the only one who can answer these questions. HR will help you sort it out with your supervisor and coworker, but you will ultimately be expected to do your work. Our ADHD and accommodations aren't accepted as excuses not to be able to do a job.

I probably sound cold/clinical in my response, I'm sorry. I have had to ask myself these same questions in my career, which was mostly in HR. At some point, after being diagnosed with ADHD at age 54, I realized that I had chosen a profession that more often than not set me up to fail. I did really well, until I didn't, and the mistakes I made weren't easily worked out. My skills had largely been replaced by computers. There were uncomfortable conversations with supervisors, written reprimands, and a performance plan. A job I had excelled at for ten years became too big for me in the 11th year.

Forgive me if I make assumptions here that don't fit. I'm going by what you told us and may not have all the details to properly assess your situation. Let me know if I'm off, and best wishes to you as you work this through!

[Abigg4 in reply to PinkPanda23]

Thank you , I immediately started the process for ADA accommodations my coworkers execpt for one all Work from home and I feel a job in person with more support and not feeling so isolated. The boss has been giving me a difficult time . I requested to be transfer to a position within our dept just in person . Not sure what to do . He said they would have to talk to my boss which my boss told me that this is a he said she said I dint know why she said that

[Abigg4 in reply to PinkPanda23]

Would you go the process of filing a compliant

[PinkPanda23 in reply to Abigg4]

I'm not sure I know enough. If you filed a complaint regarding the other employee who lied and revealed your disability to HR, maybe. I'm not sure what other complaint you have. Your problem is that you are in danger of being written up. The other issue is a distraction but not as important as completing your request for accommodation. If you can get that done and it helps do better work, you have better ground to stand on. It may also be the wrong job for you. That's a hard nut to chew on, but it does sound like you have a lot on your plate,especially if you were hired to work remotely.

[Abigg4 in reply to PinkPanda23]

Thank you for the response. Sorry if I want detailed enough, my boss said in front of the girl that cost confrontation that I was going around saying that I had a disability there was another incident. I told her I was getting accommodations that she was going to write me up and I didn’t. I don’t think that she can do that

[Blue_186281_red]

If you don't have lawyer and are in USA, check out your county's lawyer referral service. You can get 30 min with a specialist for a relatively small fee to at least point you in the right direction. I talked to a labor lawyer once who was at least willing to write a letter citing case law I had found. Do some legal research on your own regarding any unique details cuz 30 min is not long! The pendulum of history is not swinging in your favor though. Those who own the means of production have destroyed the protections won by The Greatest Generation and corruption is the law of most every nation today.

The only thing that lawyer's letter bought me was a couple more months of employment until they were able to fabricate just cause. I have used that letter several times now to temporarily protect my work/life balance. Forget everything you learned in 3rd grade about Honest Abe and a 40 hour work week. You have become an annoyance to an over-worked middle manager who needs to clear their to do list ASAP. Unless you happen to tickle that manager's bleeding heart, you need to start looking for a job now when you're still employed.

[Abigg4 in reply to Blue_186281_red]

Do you think my siuation is even worth it

[Blue_186281_red in reply to Abigg4]

That's a question only you can answer. I don't know how valuable your job is to you and I'm not a labor lawyer; I'm just an RN who went to school to put in an honest day's work under the protection of a union, and wound up adrift in a gig economy.

The lawyer cost me $35 back in '16. I was hoping to sue for $4k in unpaid wages and wound up with a little extra time to find a new job.

I like a good argument and grew up idealizing the labor movements of the 30's and counterculture of the 60's. I suffer from a self righteous morality that I have read is common in people with ADHD. My affront at being maliciously harmed and my desire to fight for social justice was guided by a particular political grounding and drove me to hyper focus on the project. With out this hyper focus, I would have been overwhelmed and succumbed to the catatonic brain fog of ADHD before I even started.

In the short term my professional behavior has been ultimately self destructive; individuals can not fight the current power structure. The wise thing (if you're even able to sustain function with your disability) is to put your head down and do what you're told so you can continue to pull a pay check. I don't know if write-ups have any legal grounding to provide universal rules, but I suspect your problem is not imminent until you get your second written warning. But if there's a target on your forehead, you WILL get that 2nd write up. I didn't say, but my focus has been on your fight for ADA protections - You also may get somewhere with slander accusations against your co-worker but will end up in the same spot - branded as a different flavored problem. What is right or legal is irrelevant. Office politics and proft rule our life today.

I work in a field that requires licensed nurses to follow regulations. The theory is that the threat of losing my license protects me when an employer tells me to break the law; if they fire me I can sue and the next nurse should present the same refusal when asked to prioritize profit over patient care. In reality, nurses consistently "prioritize" away their clearly described responsibilities because it's the only way to make a living wage. The risks associated with not doing our job is put exclusively on potential legal action against our license. This is why it's crazy that the "left" has been fooled into fighting for immigration and the Right has been distracted with images of poor brown people running across the border; nursing is flooded by non-American H1B holders who legally come via airplane and have zero grasp of the labor history of the USA.

I don't believe in Trump, but but it was Clinton who sold us down the river with NAFTA The economics I describe hit factory workers 30 years ago and has now come for all of us. These economics are why they demonize Trump; his mere existence has spurred organization. His willingness to use presidential power showed us that Obama COULD have done what he promised if he wasn't working for the banks.

Sorry to go off the rails... I guess my point, other than hoping to spur your fighting spirit, is that the pendulum of history swings and if you shut up and keep your head down, I don't think the story ends with your head still down.