Applying for Disability - advice? attorney?

[pjrose]

Geo - Thanks! You have cleared up the 25 (actually 22) year old bit.

So IF she keeps passing out so she can't work, and IF the Drs can't get the disability under control, and IF her dad or I are receiving benefits and IF she meets the age/time/disability issues and so forth in your last two posts, then she might be able to receive benefits.

thank you!

 

[pjrose]

Syncope 3rd day at new job

She passed out on her third half-day at the new job, in ER now.

I was hoping this job would work out b/c she'd be moving around and not standing still, but I guess not. I don't know if they'll let her come back to the job again, but if it happens 2x that's probably it.

Time to pursue disability again, and the info above will help.

 

[funtime]

Congratulations on the job. As an employee of a large supermarket she will be covered by the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) as an employer needs 15 or 20 employees (depending upon the state.) Her employer is required to work with her in "the interactive process" if she needs to modify the job somewhat - she does have to institute the request. I am not suggesting a full bore realignment of her job, just the fact that if it gets too hard, and small changes can be made - e.g. sitting down in the back and frosting cakes for an hour or two etc. - she should not just up and quit but use the ADA to help save her position. Disability employment attorney referrals can be found on : www.NELA.org. Also, she should look to see if the city provides handicap buses or paratransit buses that take people around. Even once a day helps. I agree that it is hard for handicap folks to find a job and I would like to see them fight for it once they get it. Good luck. Funtime

 

[pjrose]

Thanks, funtime, this is very useful.

Just the other day DD and I went through a Target checkout line handled by a disabled employee with something that appeared like Cerebral Palsy - he was sitting and a bit uncoordinated and a bit hard to understand, but he was working and doing just fine in our opinions.


To qualify under ADA does she have to be receiving Disability (SSI/SSDI) or have some other kind of certification or paperwork?

Not sure what you mean by "needs 15 or 20 employees" - do you mean that's the minimum size of the workforce of businesses that must comply with the act, or that they need to have/accommodate/make room for that many disabled employees?

 

[Barbeque]

PJ
sorry to read about your daughters condition
IF the current physicians cannot pinpoint the cause perhaps an alternative medical solution may help her (But the insurance companies may not cover)
I honestly believe that many of our current medical problems are related to chemicals in our environment, food, Cosmetics, Electrical (WI FI Cell phones) etc. Or sensitivties to foods that are harmful to some that are perfect nutrition for others. I have found I am highly sensitive to many and have learned to live better. WE have a friend whos daughter when she was little had a siezure after smelling a dryer sheet.
15 years ago my life changed for the better after reading "An Alternative Approach to Allergies" By Dr. Theron Randolph
"Is this Your Child " by Dr. Doris Rapp may also help.

The developer of the Royal Resorts has put a lot of faith and promotion back in forth with the Life Extension Foundation www.lef.org They have a lot of medical research on their website and they have boards that some very well known phsycians that take alternative views. I believe this is where medicine is really headed in the future. They do a lot of researcch and report on it.
Dr Russel Blaylock and Dr. Eric Braverman are among some on this advisory and Scientific boards of Life Extension and I really think they get it. I have read some of what they have written.

Here is an article that talks about some of the chemicals in fast food.
http://www.naturalnews.com/034314_fast_food_nutrition_facts_ingredients.html

Another very useful website is mercola.com

 

[pjrose]

Thanks, Barbeque, I will look into these as well.

An acquaintance whose daughter has more of a problem with this than our daughter went to some well-known specialists out of state etc etc, and ended up with acupuncture.

And as to the chemicals and cell phones etc, I couldn't agree with you more (while I sit here staring at my computer on my wireless network).

PJ

 

[funtime]

Thanks, funtime, this is very useful.

Just the other day DD and I went through a Target checkout line handled by a disabled employee with something that appeared like Cerebral Palsy - he was sitting and a bit uncoordinated and a bit hard to understand, but he was working and doing just fine in our opinions.


To qualify under ADA does she have to be receiving Disability (SSI/SSDI) or have some other kind of certification or paperwork?

Not sure what you mean by "needs 15 or 20 employees" - do you mean that's the minimum size of the workforce of businesses that must comply with the act, or that they need to have/accommodate/make room for that many disabled employees?

Sorry I have been off site for a few days. Although I am a lawyer, please note I am just giving general public information rather than legal advice to your daughter. To answer your questions, the reason this area of the law is complicated is that employees with disabilities live under wholly different law and rules than those that are not employed and are reciveing SSI or SSDI.

Under the ADA or state law the employer usually needs to have 15 or 20 employees - all total -to be a covered employer, although the number of employees varies in certain states and may be as small as threr or four in some states - hence the need to check. The theory is that as a matter of policy a little three person hot dog stand is not required to follow all ADA workforce requirements that a 500 plus employer is required to follow.

And, the employed person of a covered employer cannot be totally disabled - they have to be able to work either with or without accommodations. In other words they have to be a viable workforce candidate. You can google www.EEOC.gov and then search for general information re the ADA. However, if a serious issue arises, protection of her job is important which is why I gave the other sources and referrals to check. Best to you and your daughter. Funtime

 

[pjrose]

Sorry I have been off site for a few days. Although I am a lawyer, please note I am just giving general public information rather than legal advice to your daughter. To answer your questions, the reason this area of the law is complicated is that employees with disabilities live under wholly different law and rules than those that are not employed and are reciveing SSI or SSDI.

Under the ADA or state law the employer usually needs to have 15 or 20 employees - all total -to be a covered employer, although the number of employees varies in certain states and may be as small as threr or four in some states - hence the need to check. The theory is that as a matter of policy a little three person hot dog stand is not required to follow all ADA workforce requirements that a 500 plus employer is required to follow.

And, the employed person of a covered employer cannot be totally disabled - they have to be able to work either with or without accommodations. In other words they have to be a viable workforce candidate. You can google www.EEOC.gov and then search for general information re the ADA. However, if a serious issue arises, protection of her job is important which is why I gave the other sources and referrals to check. Best to you and your daughter. Funtime

The above in bold looks like the general info I was wondering about - so she does not have to be approved for or receive SSI/SSDI to be considered disabled under ADA. The rest of the info is a great help too! Her employer (for three days before she fainted) has hundreds of employees so would fall under ADA.

In the best case the doctors will fix the problem - we're headed for more tests in a few days and TUGgers have given me LOTS of ideas. Second best, her employer (or another) will make reasonable accommodations, which in her case would include letting her have a water bottle handy and letting her sit down for ~1/4-1/3 of the time - seems pretty "reasonable" to me for a cashier-type job and many others. She also can't do anything too strenuous, but she wouldn't apply for that kind of job anyway.

As always, I remain optimistic