I had surgery 9 days ago for nerve damage in my left elbow. It is NOT work-related, at least not specifically to the job I have now, although my job requires a ton of typing.

The surgeon told The Powers That Be at my office that it normally is an 8-week healing process from the type of surgery I had. Work offered me 14 days, which was all the paid time off I had left (Grrrrrrrr).

I am supposed to start back this Friday. They have said they will provide me with voice-activated software so that I can work from home. I just tried driving for the first time today, which wasn't great, so they also offered to reimburse me for bus passes.

Well, I live in the sticks, and the closest bus stop to where I live is a 1.5 mile walk. I work lots of nights, and I am NOT walking 1.5 miles at home at 10 pm in the cold and dark after getting out of a meeting.

I wrote my boss and told her this. She replied that if I couldn't use a bus pass, then I couldn't come back to work till I can drive, because there's no way they would reimburse me for cab fare, even though i live 5 miles from the community I cover. 10 miles roundtrip should be about $10 a shot. Big whoop.

My question is, can they do this to me? They're already f'ing my recovery by making me come back earlier than I"m supposed to. I'm doing better than expected at this point, but I also still need to spend a significant portion of the day with an ice pack and a pillow, elevating my arm.

I realize they have tried to make accommodations for me, but to boot me out with no income until I'm fully healthy is just cruel, IMHO. They'll let me work part-time for a couple of weeks, but they'll only pay me part time too, and I can't afford that either.

Help?!?!

candy

PS: If I ever go out for psych reasons from this job, I can't wait to see what they'll do to me!