Hello Nicole,

Thank you for reaching out! I’m sorry to hear your supervisor is giving you pushback on your reasonable request to work remotely. It seems like your question is twofold – what to do about your reasonable accommodation request being denied, and whether or not you need to go on FMLA. These are both within the legal realm, so I will provide you with some basic information and considerations, but will ultimately point you in the direction of legal organizations that may be able to provide you the specific information and guidance you are looking for.

 In terms of your reasonable accommodation request, did you specify working from home as the accommodation? I saw in your post you said accommodations ‘such as working from home’. If you left it too open that may make it more difficult to formalize a plan. So if that is the case, I’d recommend making it more specific – the option to work from home 3x a week, or collaborating with them so their concerns or issues can be taken into account when devising a solution. I would also recommend using the time you worked from home as an example – outline what you accomplished, and connect that to the type of work you’d be able to easily complete at home. Being able to show them that something works or worked, will strengthen your argument that this is a reasonable accommodation.

 As for using FMLA – I would recommend taking a look at the policies in your employee handbook so you’re well versed in what options may be available to you specifically at your company.

 Additionally, being as informed about general laws and protections can be really helpful as well, to be able to bring up when necessary/helpful. Check out:

• Some of CAC’s Legal and Financial resources:




• Your Legal Rights in the Workplace


• Requesting Reasonable Accommodations




• 
  Triage Cancer: A cancer rights organization that provides information not only on federal laws, but also provides information specific to each state.


• 
  The Job Accommodation Network: The go-to for learning about accommodations, as well as guidance on best practices for identifying and requesting accommodations. 

 I hope the information above is helpful as you figure out your next step. If you’d like to discuss further, we’d be happy to set up a time to talk. Feel free to reach out to cancerandcareers@cew.org to schedule or ask any further questions!

Warm regards,

Nicole Jarvis, LMSW

Assistant Director of Programs

Cancer and Careers

Hi Nicole!

Thank you for the reply. To better explain, the only accommodation I am asking for is that when I do come down with an illness (which happens from time to time and depdending on the time of year) and because I take longer to recover due to a low immune system, to allow me to work from home so I do not lose all of my PTO. I can send you the exact letter my oncologist sent over? So, I am not asking for a weekly, monthly, etc. set accommodation, but and as needed accommodation. I did reach out to HR again today as it just happened again with my supervisor. I am sick and decided to go in today so I do not lose out on PTO. She told me sometimes I have to "push through" my illnesses, so I try that today and she sends me home and says I cannot work from home. I am not getting much help from HR either, they just asked me not to go to the EEOC yet.

I am also nervous about filling intermittent FMLA. Other people I know in HR at other companies say not to because they can fire you after your 12-weeks. And again, I am not sick 24/7 so it is an as-needed thing. I just happen to be catching a lot of things going around.

Hi. I am a fellow cancer patient who relies on intermittent FMLA for my medical appointments and when undergoing treatment. I am sorry you are having issues with your boss when it comes to accommodation. This summer when I went through chemo II was lucky as I was given an ADA accommodation to work from home.
ADA is something else to look into when it comes to accommodations. Paperwork similar to the FMLA paperwork gets filled out by your doctor and sent to your employer’s HR team for them to review, just like FMLA.

The one thing I learned through my illness is that FMLA and ADA paperwork is sent to you from your HR department (in my case thr leave administrators) and get faxed back to them. Your actual boss and management team doesn’t see what is on the paperwork. Once the paperwork is reviewed HR informs your boss of your FMLA or in the case of ADA if the accommodation is applicable for your job. Your management team doesn’t know anything about the need of the FMLA time off or ADA unless you disclose it to them.

My other recommendation is to check out the Job Accommodation Network (ask jan.com). It is a site employers and employees use as a guide for possible accommodations for their conditions. So checking out, and have a plan of what accommodations you may need during this time. I personally think there should be an WFH accommodation on days people have flairs instead of having to call out, even with FMLA. It doesn’t just benefit cancer patients but people with other medical conditions too who can still work during their flair but just shouldn’t be in the office that particular day.