Employee experiencing seizures on the job.

jakech

I need some guidance concerning our legal responsiblities relating to an employee who has had a seizure more than once on the job (during the seizure the employee doesn't lose conciousness, but can not function or even stand). My understanding is they are being treated by a doctor.The employee's duties include close contact with the public and dealing with money. The last two occurences, we had an ambulance come out, but the employee refused to be transported to a hospital. The seizures only occur about once every two or three weeks (at least on the job). The employee is generally exhausted after the episode and can not really function in their job for at least 2 to 3 hours. Currently we are not approaching this as a ADA issue and the employee has not either. Would you send them home for the rest of the day (after they had recovered)? Would you allow them to stay at work, on the clock, until end of day? We have a sick leave policy and this employee has accumulated sick leave available which can be used in half hour increments. Any input would be appreciated.

Dianna

My understanding is as follows:
1) The employee is the one who has to approach you regarding ADA - you can certainly ask her the question as to whether she needs reasonable accommodation to perform her job, but you cannot push the matter - it is up to her (but do make sure she fully understands what reasonable accommodation is all about).

2) We recently had a similar issue with a team member, and our attorney advised us that we should not summarily send the team member home - that it is up to the team member to determine whether or not she should go home, because, bottom line, we can't "climb into their heads" and know how they feel. She can certainly use her sick hours at that point or whenever she needs them.

3) If the seizures continue to a point where you are concerned for her safety and liability for the company as far as knowing about her seizures and not doing anything about it, you might want to request that she visit her doctor and get a note clearing her for work. However, stress that this is strictly out of concern for her safety, so she doesn't feel like she is continually being picked on. You might want to check with your employment attorney for any specific laws that might apply.

Hope that helps a little - best of luck.

Down_the_Middle

I agree with Di's 3rd point. I think it's very appropriate for you to express concern over her safety and confirm what you as an employer s/b doing post-seizure. If you have an MRO or company MD, you might get their input regarding post-seizure symptoms, etc, but the attending physician should clarify this lady's ability to function safely on the job.

Margaret Morford

While you cannot force a reasonable accomodation, if someone is spending 2 to 3 hours at work unable to do their job, they will need a reasonable accomodation. Does that mean a place to lay down or the opportunity to go home, you'll need to explore with the employee what works best for him/her and for the company too.

Margaret Morford
theHRedge