Are you Disabled Federal Worker and in Receipt of a Return to Office Order?
Some non-legal advice from personal experience incoming...
Greetings, fellow federal oath takers! I have some quick advice for you if you’ve received a return to office order and you need to work from home because you’re disabled. So many of our amazing federal workers are disabled veterans, for example. I was one of them! First, a bit of legal jargon:
This is provided for informational purposes only, and does not constitute legal advice. The information provided herein should not be relied upon without consulting with a qualified attorney regarding your specific situation. No attorney-client relationship is created by this communication. As always, if you’re a member of a collective bargaining unit, defer to their guidance on these matters.
So here’s my advice from personal experience and with the advice of folks with Human Resource Labor Relation experience in the federal government. Do you meet the following criteria?
You work remotely and have received a return-to-office order AND
You do NOT have a reasonable accommodation AND
You DO have a disability that has been previously documented that requires you work from home
If all these apply to you, I recommend you file a reasonable accommodation request (some agencies call this medial telework). Here’s why:
Right now, there are a TON of reasonable accommodation requests, and it may take a long time to get to yours. In the meantime, you can petition to work from home during the pendency of the outcome of that request.
Additionally, if you have a medically documented (before now) condition that could qualify you for a reasonable accommodation, and they fire you or take an adverse action AFTER you request a reasonable accommodation, hoo boy is that discriminatory and retaliatory. Ripe for a greivance/lawsuit.
Keep in mind, this could put you on someone’s radar. Please feel free to simply return to the office if you don’t wanna draw any attention to yourself.
Keep copies of any and all emails and requests, and keep contemporaneous notes of the entire process. Those can come in handy later if you decide to file a lawsuit or a formal or informal grievance.
Your respective agencies should have procedures to follow to file such a request. You’ll need medical documentation, too.
That’s my recommendation for today!
~AG
It is insane that with everything that one has to handle there are intentional cruelties from the leaders of our country and non Governmental billionaires given free rein .... WHO are we?
Wise words Allison, thanks for all you do!!