[jd6266]

I "came out" at work in order to request accommodations. I also wanted to educate my co-workers/supervisor by exposing them to a "real" person who has a mental illness. I want to lessen stigma. A mentally ill person isn't just someone shooting kids that you see on the news, right?

I offered to do some training for my co-workers on what it is like to be an employee with mental illness. I offered this because of the continued complaints about how to "deal" with those employees. Needless to say, my boss didn't take me up on it. On top of all of this, I work in Human Resources.

I was wondering what experiences you may have had at work where you felt you were not treated well or differently because of your illness.

Thanks!

[~Christina]

I never disclosed to an employer , nor would I ever.

Yes there is a ADA .. oh blah I say .. If an employer wants someone fired they can come up with any kind of excuse.

Sorry maybe that isn't what you wanted to hear.

[liveforfish]

While I admire your braveness, I'm not sure I could do it myself.

I have made statements like "that offends me, or please don't say that". But they think it's about my son.

[Victoria'smom]

I know my father as a boss was really good about accommodating people with MI after disclosing. However he has raised 4 children that have MI and was a board member of ARC. He also had to do the hiring and firing for his shift. He taught his kids to hide there dx because he had never seen a person last over a month outside his team that had disclosed.

[BipolaRNurse]

I hope all will be well with me when I go back to work next week, but of course I'm concerned about the potential fallout because now all the big bosses know about my MH issues. I disclosed to my immediate supervisor last summer when I had a manic episode that I couldn't hide, but the upper echelon didn't know about it until I went out on medical leave a couple of weeks ago.

TBH, I think my days in nursing in general and this job in particular are numbered; I do not seem to be able to deal with the anxiety and stress, and I'm really disappointed with myself for that. But I'm already on multiple medications---why do I need to eat lorazepam tablets like Skittles just to get through a day?? When is enough, enough?

[faerie_moon_x]

Around the time I was diagnosed I was having some major issues at work. This was almost 4 years ago now. I have some major disorganizational problems that impare my functioning sometimes, but not always, it comes and goes but gets steadily worse.

Like you, I wanted to disclose so that I could get accomidations. I sat in a meeting with the HR person adn my boss at that time. The first thing I said was if a position that had less responsability ever came available, it might be good to move to it. The HR person instantly informed me that I would never be moved or promoted due to my instability. This was of course said verbally and not recorded anywhere, so my word against hers, really. None of the accomidations I requested were ever met.

Every six months after that, I would receive an official "write-up" about poor performance. All of the issues that came up were often due to major cycle shifts and struggling due to bipolar. When I tell them this, I'm told I need to "leave it at the door." And "everyone has bad days." Some of the write ups were for things like forgetting to schedule an appointment and the patient then shows up. Other things are like once I let the woman I was training as my fill-in for materinity leave whipe my desk down with lysol. In that write up I was called "disgusting." On paper. All of my write-ups I give to my GP to scan into my medical record.

My first year I received highest score on my review, which is a 4. After that, my score went steadily down to a 2.4 in 2012, and threat of being fired if I did not become "stable." I did very well in 2012 and although I corrected and exceeded in correcting their preceived issues, I only got a 2.7 on my review. Odd.

When I almost died in 2012, July, of gall bladder and pancreatitus, and missed 3 weeks of work, and since I'd had my baby earlier in the year, I only had 2 weeks of FML available. So, I was told I had to get back to work within 7 days of leaving the hospital or I'd be fired. So I went back before I was healed. This makes me mad because another woman was diagnosed with Lieukemia in May 2011. She was off for a year, came back to her job for 2 months, relapsed, and they are still holding her job. Which, just seems like playing favorites. I mean, I was told under no certain terms that "we can't hold your job held for you once FML runs out, regardless of how ill you are." Odd.

After I was sick, however; my boss because more appreciative of me at least. I haven't been written up since then. (But my review was still crap.) So yeah, I do feel I am discriminated against, and I have been keeping record of this in my medical chart.

[Anneinside]

I was a professor and extremely depressed. A coworker asked what was wrong and I told her, along with that I was having suicidal thoughts. She reported this to the Dean who contacted HR. HR wrote a letter to my psychiatrist (now how did you get that info?) My psychiatrist said I needed to get out of there for awhile and wrote a medical leave of absence request. HR approved it.... When I returned to work I reported to HR as required and the HR supervisor and my Dean were there. I was presented with a letter to sign that said I would not disclose my diagnosis or symptoms to any faculty, staff or students. I was told that I could not return to work unless I signed. I had no choice...I signed. They certainly don't require that of people returning from heart surgery or any other medical disorder! We also wrote up an accommodations plan and I returned 1/2 time for 1 semester. The next semester all three accommodations were ignored and not implemented. I lasted about 4 weeks and I was back on leave. Later I was told I had to go up for tenure. My chair said because of my absences the department would not grant me tenure (this statement and plan was against the university rules). I ended up being released as disabled. It was all a horrible experience.

[Cocosurviving]

After reading all the post I'm floored. I haven't worked since April 2012 but plan on trying to return. This was good info for me to have. I do wonder if anyone called there local ADA office or EEOC?

[faerie_moon_x]

I have not because it would probably cause a huge legal battle and although I'm poor, I'm not poor enough to qualify for legal aid. This is something I would need a lawyer and a ton of money to fight, since my job is with a large corporation.

I just keep everything documented.

I have read many, many sites about how to "handle" when an employee comes up with "bipolar" to get out of having to keep them as an employee for very long. There are many lawyers, it seems, who are part of that big "bipolar is a fake excuse by the lazy to milk the God fearing people out of their hard earned money." So, yeah.... someday maybe we will have our own civil rights movement.

[Anneinside]

ADA is only helpful if the employer abides by it. I checked into it and the only remedy they do is to sue for money to replace what you would have earned if you are fired. They don't get your job back for you. They have to go through negotiations before they can sue. Also there is a very limited time span from when you lose your job to when you can no longer sue.

In my case, I would have had to refuse to sign the letter and not be allowed to work for me to have ADA support.