Wheelchair without paperwork

Alex2003 · October 2003

I have an employee at another location who, one day, just wheeled herself in in a wheelchair. She is overweight and, allegedly, have a knee condition, and the wheelchair takes the weight, literally and figuratively speaking, off her knees.

It does put the burden on other employees, though. Other union members have an issue with her using a wheelchair and not doing all of the functions of her job which make them to pick up the slack.

It is also my understanding she is not willing to get disability paperwork as she does not want to be perceived disabled.

Basically, I have an employee who has created accommodations per her own indications and I don't have any medical paperwork to support it.

Any suggestions as to the way this should be addressed? Thanks.

Alex

marc · October 2003

Are we to understand that she is either refusing to do all of her work, or that she has unilaterally modified her job description? I think either of these require action on your part. It is not up to the employee to determine what a reasonable accomodation is, nor to assume she can eliminate the procedures necessary to get to the accomodation she thinks she needs. Make her jump through the hoops, or begin the disciplinary process associated with her transgressions.

sonny · October 2003

Am wondering how she figures she will not be percieved as disabled when she is using a wheelchair. That aside, I agree with Marc.

Don D · October 2003

It will not be a pretty thing if the EEOC learns you made a person in a wheelchair jump through hoops. That may even be cruel and unusual for an able bodied person such as Marc. You cite several irrelevant facts that you need to dispense with right out of the chute: One is that 'the union' members don't like it. Another is that you have a notion of what she thinks about her condition and how you feel she perceives something. Then you also have an allegation that she has a knee condition. You simply cannot make your decisions on the rumblings of others, particularly union people who tend to 'group think'. Nor can you make a good decision based on what you 'hear' or 'perceive' or 'think' about the situation. She needs to be rolled into your office, as opposed to jumping through hoops, and asked to discuss what's up. What is it about the wheelchair that disrupts your work environment and the job she has to do? What if she had brought a cane in instead?

Is she doing less in the chair than the job requires of her or at a lesser speed than required? Is she asking to be accommodated? Has she forced accommodation by using the chair? Lots of unknowns here. Isn't it sort of like a guy on an assembly line who one day drags a stool in and sits on it to do his job. If what she has done is altering the work process or redefining her job, and she has done that unilaterally, she has got the cart before the horse. I do think that you are allowed to conclude that there is a medical condition...just as you could conclude the same if she were to report to work in a leg cast, and based on that, you should have a discussion. You may need to insist that she bring in information from her medical evaluation suggesting she cannot do the job without the wheelchair. Don't be surprised if one of our members posts a link about people who show up in wheelchairs.

Alex2003 · October 2003

Don, you brought up all important points. All things (allegations, union group thinking, etc.) taken aside, the fact remains that the employee has created an accomodation for herself without a proper documentation to support its necessity.

I think that the next step should be meeting with her and her supervisor and making her give us a good explanation of her reasons to have a wheelchair. At that point, I will request medical documentation, within a certain timeline, that should specifically say that she cannot perform her regular duties without a wheelchair. Then, we will need to make a decision if it is reasonable for us to accommodate (it is funny but it seems like we have been doing it already) or not.

Don D · October 2003

If your discussion reveals that she has self-diagnosed an illness and the need for durable medical equipment, you may even want to suspend her, pending receipt of medical documentation and release to work. At this point, you don't know what the doctor might say, if in fact she has a doctor. Having her there, self-diagnosed, in a wheelchair, without the benefit of medical advice may pose additional liability for the company. I would do the same with a guy who showed up on crutches or in a neck brace. Good luck.

marc · October 2003

Don,

You must have seen me waddling around one of the local high school tracks trying to jump low hurdles.
Hoops would be cruel and unusual, and not a pretty sight.

Don D · October 2003

Alex: What's the update on the gal in the wheelchair?

Wheelchair without paperwork

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