immunosuppression, Covid, and back to office policies

[MsAmyM]

Is there anyone else whose reasonable accommodation request to telecommute full time due to immunosuppression during Covid was completely disregarded and treated with disdain? I am pursuing legal action and looking for others who have experienced similar discrimination

[barbara55109]

Luckily I'm allowed to telework full time. I work in state government. I'm very afraid if we get a new governor I will lose access to telework. The GQP hates civil servants and campaign to take away telework and other draconian work rules.

[Jayhawker]

I was already on an accommodation plan before transplant due to my low vision impairment. In accordance with that plan I work virtually full time.

However, in my place of employment, a university, I’d have had to have my medical team provide verification that I need to work from home for my university to put that accommodation in place. I’m not sure my transplant team would do that. It would likely depend upon the specific nature of my job and whether I have other complications, e.g., continual low white blood cell count requiring ongoing treatment that place me at very high risk for other viruses and infections.

As it turns out I am dealing with ongoing severe low WBC count requiring 2 neupogen injections a week. That gets my WBC count up to 3.0-3.25 only though. So, I mask with medical grade masks whenever I’m out of my house and hand sanitize frequently as well as lots of hand washing at home. I’m also eating only cooked vegetables to minimize possibility of picking up something from fresh vegetables, etc. I’m unwilling to risk eating fresh vegetables even when thoroughly washed. I’ve also been told I can’t get my teeth cleaned until my WBC count is consistently higher. So, yes, I’m at extremely high risk for picking up anything. But my situation is not typical. If my WBC count was in the low average range I’d adhere to good hygiene protocol and wash fresh veggies thoroughly before eating them but otherwise would carry on normally,

Having said all of this, I know transplant recipients who are preschool teachers and return to work with these little ones. who do not wash their hands and often wipe their noses on my friend’s skirts, etc, without difficulties. So, again, depending upon your specific job, the transplant itself may not mean you need an accommodation plan to allow you to work from home.

Jayhawker

[MsAmyM in reply to Jayhawker]

Lol, I am a former preschool teacher. They are walking germ factories. Good thing they’re cute

[Jayhawker in reply to MsAmyM]

They most certainly are germ factories🙂 I’m a university professor. Most of my doctors describe universities campuses as petri dishes crawling with bacteria and viruses… 😂

Jayhawker