Do I have a legal case?

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Long post, sorry....
Summary: I have autism and have been targeted at my current job to the point of feeling unsafe. HR has been unhelpful, and behaviors have generally not changed. Instead of working with recent medical restrictions, I was placed on unpaid leave and the company refuses to provide a letter stating so.

I started a new job a few weeks ago as an overnight stocker at a grocery store. After a few days of working there, I noticed that I was being treated poorly, and differently from other new hires, even those of the same age (I’m 21). I was being spoken to as if I were a child, as if I had no job experience, and as if I were unintelligent, by my assistant manager, manager, and another coworker. The worst of it came from my assistant manager, who went so far as to say, “Well we’re not in school anymore” when I informed her that I was using the restroom so she wouldn’t think I walked out. She additionally laughed at me for asking where a certain damaged product went when I asked for clarification, as there were two options based on her response. There were a few other instances, but those were the most damaging and severe. Generally, if I wasn’t being talked down to, I was ignored entirely, and treated as a burden (directed to take a break instead of assisting with a truckload, put on my own when others were working together on a larger project).

This affected me to the point of feeling actual fear of the workplace, as well as of the coworkers who were targeting me, to the point of having to call out of one shift because of one of the largest meltdowns of my life and calling the local crisis line. I remained partially nonverbal and did not relax for over a week afterwards, and even went into a walk-in crisis center before one of my other shifts, just to get myself to work.

At this point, I disclosed to my manager that I am on the autism spectrum, and that I was feeling overwhelmed. This did not seem to change any behavior, so I spoke to HR and disclosed my experiences and that I am on the spectrum. The lady there actually guessed which employees I was having issues with, said it was not the first time someone had said something about the assistant manager, even stating that other former employees said that particular employee was a factor in their decision to leave. She also said she would speak to the people I had mentioned, and that hopefully it would resolve. She said she would inform them that things might take longer for me due to my mental health, as well.

Instead, I felt ignored even moreso, as instead of addressing the issue, they simply avoided interacting with me. I was also spoken to over and over regarding my speed and compared to company standards. The policy is that they have 45 days to train me to 80% of the standard. I had been there for 7 work days at the time, and was at probably 30-40% of the standard. My manager continued to speak to me as though I were a child. The lady in HR said she was going to start discussion a position transfer for me within the store so I would not have to leave.

At the same time, I was experiencing some back pain on the job that was progressively getting worse week by week. I had no pain during the first week, but sometime during the second week I began to have pain. It resolved on my days off until the third week, at which point the pain became constant, and did not resolve with rest, physical therapy stretches, or other pain management.

I sprained my back in fall 2014, and I wanted to ensure that didn’t happen again, as I was out of work for a few months rehabilitating it. No permanent damage was done then, and I was cleared for all positions, including those involving lifting, and I have worked for the last year and a half in a similar position that involved lifting up to 75lbs. for a couple of hours each shift. I experienced no pain in those jobs, and had not been affected by the minor injury since. Despite this, I still went to the doctor’s to have the new back pain examined and for medical advice to avoid another sprain at this job.

The first doctor I saw was unhelpful, claimed I “could not be injured from [my] typical work activities,” and placed general lifting restrictions on me. My manager accommodated those restrictions by placing me on light duty. I was advised by the first doctor, as well as HR at work, to go to my PCP for a second opinion. My PCP referred me to physical therapy, and added to my restrictions that I should not perform any one task for more than an hour at a time, to reduce repetitive motion. My manager again accommodated this, by implementing 10-minute breaks every hour for me.

However, my manager also continued to speak to me regarding my speed. He was generally understanding, and said to do my best under my conditions, but also said that, despite my restrictions, I had to work to company standards so as not to inconvenience the other workers, due to my slowness. I had been there for about 9 work days at that point, and was still performing, with injury, at about 30-40% of the standard.

The next day, I had a meeting with the lady from HR and two store managers from the day crew. They asked me about the experiences I had disclosed to HR and about my medical status. I told them what I had told HR, and another experience I had since the original discussion. They seemed generally unresponsive to the original claims, other than saying they’d talk to the assistant manager, and went so far as to tell me that one of my negative experiences “was just life, man,” and that I had to deal with it. They completely ignored my disclosure of being on the spectrum.

In addition, they said that as of that point they were putting me on unpaid leave, as they did not feel they could accommodate my restrictions, even if they were to assign me to cashier on the day shift, as that involved “some lifting” as well (though I was not restricted from all lifting). They said I could return once I was cleared by physical therapy. They claimed that the pain I was experiencing was due to a “pre-existing injury” (the minor sprain from two years ago), and that it was not related to the work I had done for them.

The entire meeting was so stressful that it caused a meltdown, including me becoming tearful and nonverbal before the meeting was even over. I was unable to articulate that the injury they were referring to was a minor sprain that was treated with over-the-counter pain medications and rehabilitated completely through physical therapy. I went home and e-mailed HR about it, and requested a letter stating I had been placed on leave including the reason.

The response to my e-mail was that she would speak to her district manager and HR specialist about it, and a day later I received another e-mail from her saying that, after speaking to her HR specialist, she “cannot provide a letter stating that [I] have been placed on a leave.” I doubt the legality of this, as the entire situation has come to feel targeted and as though they are trying to coerce me into resigning (”constructive dismissal” is the legal term, I believe).

I need the letter in order to apply for the local free health insurance as proof that my income has stopped, as otherwise I will be unable to receive the physical therapy to return to my job. I am looking for other positions elsewhere, but I still need the physical therapy to get myself to a place where I can at least perform the kind of work I was doing before.



Does this seem like constructive dismissal? Can a workplace refuse to provide a letter stating someone has been placed on leave? Do I have a legal case in regards to the discrimination I feel I was facing from the three employees about my autism? Do I have a worker’s compensation case regarding my back?
What is your advice?

I work as a cashier at a place I'll call BobMart*. There's a very specific thing about lifting and back health I can share with you. Sometimes a customer will put a 12-pack of coke on the conveyor belt, which is fine. I can scan it and place it on the large flat top of the turnstile. No problem. But occasionally, a customer will hold out his hands indicating that he wants me to hand it to him.

I say, "I'll put it in the basket. I can't stretch and extend." And I'll walk around the turnstile and easily and matter-of-factly put it in his basket. At that point, I might add, "I'm sorry, it's the stretching which really wears on my back." And at least 50% of the time, the customer says, Oh no, you're very polite about it, you put it in the cart.

The fact that I'm matter-of-fact about the situation I think helps the customer to be matter-of-fact about it, too.

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I assume you're taking ibuprofen or another anti-inflammatory for your back in the amounts recommended on the label?

And really, I've gotten some good basic health info on sites like WebMD and MayoClinic. A lot of it is almost too basic, but a few snippets which help.

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I think a potential opening in the situation is that you easily can do, or will soon be able to do, the modest and occasional lifting required of a cashier, if you in fact do want to change jobs to a cashier.

And please keep using us as a resource here at WrongPlanet. For example, we learn yet again that "human resources" might talk a good game, but when it all comes down to it, is interested in protecting the companies interest, and not necessarily the employee's. And not even to the extent of coaching up that particular asst. manager, who by the way seems like a real work of art!

One option is to send email and/or following-up phone call and/or visit a new note from your doctor emphasizing that you can do the modest and occasional lifting required by a cashier.

Now, there's a 50% chance the job is gone. I'm sorry, and as unfair as these bunch of passive, drifting managers are, that's a reality. So, 50-50 chance, please don't put too much, I mean invest too much emotionally or personally in a job which may or may not be there.

And then consider asking someone to advocate for you. And I want to pitch this a little, for it's kind of the opposite of what we tell young people in school. We tell young people that they have to do it themselves, and that's certainly convenient for the school authorities. But that's not how successful business people get things done. I mean, do you really think Donald Trump calls the insurance company himself? Or a rock star?

So, if you're Uncle called up the store, respectfully talked with one of the managers, and succeeded in getting a sit down meeting, you better believe that manager would be on his or her best behavior. I mean, just two people, just your Uncle and the manager. And that meeting where it's two managers plus the HR person arrayed against you, that's a disaster. That's 3 on 1, that's a presidential news conference. That is not something you're likely to come out on top of.

Or, an older brother,

or a former coach, or a teacher,

or a minister,

A one-on-one meeting with any of these people on your behalf, and perhaps one other manager merely there as a witness who's not going to talk, the manager trying to find a way for it to work, rather than a way to freeze you out.

Your Uncle is perhaps almost ideal, for it connotes a large family with connections.

A parent is okay. It's probably better than doing it yourself, if in your judgment you feel your parent will do a good job.

And to an Uncle or older brother or former coach, maybe try and sell it one time. In this case, I think having someone calmly advocating on my behalf, gives me the best chance of getting the job back. <--- maybe say something like this. Try not to be against the person if they still say no, as you are asking something unusual.

And an autism case worker is kind of the same category as a parent, might do an okay job, but not as good as one of the unofficial people.

And yes, you can do this yourself, calming requesting a one-on-one to find a way for it to work, with any other manager merely there as a witness if needed. In my judgment, a better chance if you have an advocate, but YMMV. Your Mileage May Vary, that kind of thing.

Good luck whatever choices you make. And please use us as one more good resource, entirely at times of your own choosing.



PS If a young woman had the same situation, I'd recommend her Aunt or older sister as perhaps her best bet advocate. Since you're a guy, I'm recommending your Uncle or older brother.

Thank you so much for the detailed replies I really truly appreciate it because I've been feeling very frustrated and lost with how the company has been treating me. I got a call today from their worker's comp division and had a brief phone interview, but the lady there told me she's likely going to deny the claim and say that the injury is not work-related. She said she would provide me with a letter stating that I'm on leave and include the status of my worker's comp decision, so at least I'll have that soon so I can get the physical therapy through the free insurance application at our local hospital.

Honestly, I don't really want to work there anymore after all these bad experiences, and it kind of bums me out because it was the best pay I've ever had, but I'm not going to sacrifice my health and make myself go somewhere daily where I don't feel safe. However, if there are rights of mine that are being violated, I'm going to want that corrected and if there's any way I can be compensated for what's gone on, I'm going to pursue it. I don't mean that to sound greedy, but frankly I'm broke, I can't pay my bills, and I feel wronged. I need help both with my health and with my finances, so I'll take what I can get.

My family is a family of only children, and my only local relative is my father who is essentially not a part of my life anymore, so unfortunately I'm going to have to pursue a representative. The meeting with the two extra managers, I agree, was really unnecessary. I felt ganged up on and attacked, and I gave a new example of how I was spoken down to, and it was completely invalidated, and they all supported each other while invalidating me. I was so frustrated I almost broke down right there. I filled out an application for voc rehab tonight so I'll hopefully get a representative through that who can at the very least help me through my next job process.

I'm no lawyer but it doesn't sound to me like you have a case. While they were rude to you, they didn't threaten you or insinuate anything so I don't see how feeling unsafe would apply. I can see how feeling offended would apply, especially since they talked down to you, but I don't see unsafe anywhere in there, and a judge nor jury would probably not see that either. If you come across differently, then some people will talk down to you and usually you or your boss can tell them that you are autistic, not stupid, and that just because you come across differently doesn't mean you don't understand things or aren't intelligent. However, that doesn't mean they will change their tone, and as long as they aren't going over the top to talk down to you, that's probably legal but just rude.

If you were having trouble with the first couple of things they were showing you and still learning and catching on to them, I can understand why they said for you to do something else while they unloaded the truck. It could slow everything down to have to stop and explain or redirect you. The way they talked to you was rude, but from what you described, it wasn't threatening nor illegal. Unfortunately, rude people are something everyone has to learn to deal with and will run into time and time again throughout life. It sucks but the world has plenty of them.

THe injury thing may have made them decide that this isn't a good fit and they don't want to chance this anymore, especially if they considered your complaints about the rude coworkers to be overstated. Seeing rude behavior as threatening behavior may make them worry that you would over state an injury too and an injury lawsuit is easier to lose for a company than a workplace atmosphere lawsuit is. Also, they might assume that because it was taking you a while to catch on that you would be more likely to get injured and they don't want that at all.

They probably decided against making you a cashier because of your meltdown and reaction to the stress from the stocking job. They didn't want to risk you doing that with a customer or when you were overwhelmed with a busy shift and a long line.

Honestly they were covering their own asses, and thats what a company does and really has to do because otherwise they will go bankrupt. I'd try another job somewhere else, and not use this place as a reference and not even mention it on subsequent applications. Nobody will notice that it's not there and it's not worth the bad reference you might get. While they may not say you were a bad employee, and have no reason to do that, they could say you caused a lot of concern for them as a warning to other employers.

So, I'm not telling you this to make you feel bad and please don't feel bad about what I'm telling you. I'm just trying to explain it from the other perspective so you might have a better idea of why things turned out like they did so you can maybe avoid this next time.

It sounds to me like they just took you off the schedule because they had nowhere to put you but had no reason to fire you and were worried about how you would react to it.

Good luck next time, and don't mention this place on any application anywhere.

_________________
I'm giving it another shot. We will see.
My forum is still there and everyone is welcome to come join as well. There is a private women only subforum there if anyone is interested. Also, there is no CAPTCHA.

The link to the forum is http://www.rightplanet.proboards.com

Having someone do the same repetitive job for eight hours, yes, I think very much sets the person up for injury. Especially expecting a newcomer jump in and do a full 8-hr shift. In a different context of learning a new sport or getting ready for an athletic contest, no athletic trainer worth his or her salt would dream of doing that. But, in the overwhelming majority of workplaces, they do seem to work this way.

And what you described, of pain the second week which would resolve on your days off, pain the third week which became constant, that sounds like classic overuse injury.

And your Primary Care Physician actually sounds pretty good, putting on paper that you were not to do any activity for more than one hour.

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And, even if it were an aggravation of the Fall 2014 injury, I think a workplace is responsible for the amount of re-injury. At least in my universe, they are. The law is funny, as I'm sure you well know. At age 21, I'm sure you're seen enough, read enough, heard enough. Being charitable to a flawed human institution, let's just say there is modest overlap between common sense and the law (!).

And you are very welcome for the detailed responses!

I like to write, and stories, almost the case study approach, is often how I best understand things.

I'd like to tell a story from late Summer 2013. I was working at the above mentioned BobMart*, not it's real name obviously, and a huge major corporation. And if you were to try and guess the place, probably not be too far wrong. My life shoulder was hurting almost all the time. Back at the beginning of the Summer I reported it to HR. The lady didn't like me, somehow seemed to decide I was lying.

They first sent me to an Asian family practitioner who was actually pretty alright. Some X-rays which were negative. And then rest and lighter duty. So, the end of Summer, they sent me to an orthopedic specialist (cough, cough!). He did a basic neurological exam, like asking me to squeeze both his fingers and asking me to raise both my arms.

He then said I was focusing on it, that it was in my mind. He said rest was overrated (!) (!) (!). He said it was time for physical therapy.

I asked a question. I think he did answer the first question.

I asked a follow-up. He stuck out his hand and said, "Thanks for coming in."

I shook the man's hand. That's almost the part that hurts the worse.

Well, he caught me off guard on this occasion. Doesn't necessarily mean he's going to catch me off guard next. And I had disclosed to the nurse for the company that I'm most likely Aspergers-Autism Spectrum. And this guy asked about it on this visit. And he still treated me shabbily.

As I was leaving, I heard him asking the nurse about lunch in a fashion that he was almost begging for conversation, for positive regard. So, he didn't feel effective as a human being in the way he treated me, but he still damn well treated me that way.

And he never followed through on the physical therapy. The sh***y piece of paper said "full release" or something like that. So, he basically lied. It's going to be an official type lie.

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So, the upshot, not getting workers' coup, but getting the official paper that you're on leave following to the next step of seeing a regular doctor, that may actually give you better odds, it really might!

The guy didn't even have a fully furnished office for crying out loud. There was a distinct lack of both furniture and medical stuff sitting around. There was even a phone sitting on the floor. I have no problem saying this so-called doctor was a charlatan.

You see, if the company uses a foreign doctor, it's a roll of the dice. Maybe the doctor's good, maybe not. But this guy was an American. It's like the company was scrapping the bottom of the barrel. Maybe the guy had been disbarred and was trying to rebuild his practice. Maybe he was a nonfunctional alcoholic trying to get back into medicine. Of course, what he did, does not constitute the practice of medicine.

Okay ....OliveOilMom.......your comment is in no way helpful. He came here looking for advice, not to have his feelings on the matter invalidated. You can't just tell him how to feel??????

OliveOilMom, You do realize this is an autism forum, correct? You realize that everyone here has very real experiences that are valid, and difficult, and for them and their providers to accurately represent, correct? Because your response comes off as closed-minded, belligerent, and overall angry, which I don't even understand. There's a phrase I'm sure you've heard, "if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all," and I'd advise you to consider it before typing your next response.

I didn't ask for anyone's opinion on what I have experienced. I am very aware of what I've gone through, and chose to skim many of the details for the sake of a forum posting. If that leaves in your mind an incomplete picture that you want to make judgement off of based on your personal experience, be my guest, but by no means will I accept you attempting to downplay something that I have never experienced in my eight years of customer service work history. If you think I'm a belligerent child using my diagnoses as an excuse, which is what your perspective seems to be, you need to open your eyes.

If you read my original post in detail, you would have seen that it was not simply "being talked down to" that lead me to feel threatened. And your comment about how you don't see that emotional safety as being relevant is damaging and invalidating in the way that it completely glosses over and misrepresents how people with mental illnesses can and often do perceive negative climates as physically unsafe due to the chemistry in their brain. In addition to autism, I have a panic disorder, which honestly doesn't work a whole lot differently from what occurs when an autistic person experiences sensory overload. Receptors in the brain's primary cortex give off a fear response, which is instinctual and does not delineate between physical or emotional threat. It is an adrenaline booster that triggers the "fight or flight" response in the body, making one hypervigilant and experience the situation as if they were in physical danger. The behavior of these coworkers, over time, and not in one instance of "name calling" or "talking down to" created a climate in that workspace that provoked that panic response in my body any time I entered the building. It resulted in emotional shutdown, reversion to nonverbal communication, and an inability to communicate effectively in the workplace.

The short way to explain it is I was experiencing perpetual, repeated panic attacks in my workplace for eight hours on end. I believe that cannot be misconstrued as a situation in which I wouldn't be feeling fear.

Saying that you don't understand how I could be afraid is your opinion based on how you would react to the situation. I am not you. I do not experience the same things you do, and in fact I do not experience things the same way "most people" do. You should know that, though, as you are posting on a forum where that is true of many. To say that it doesn't make sense for me to feel fear based on your response invalidates the fact that I experienced fear enough to seek emergency help. Not sure why that's even up for debate at this point, frankly it's laughable.

To be a bit more explicit, the people at this job have laughed in my face, discussed me in negative terms where they thought I couldn't hear, called other employees "fa***ts" and made violent, race-based insinuations towards them, and expressed violent attitudes towards others overall. I was intentionally put on different duty so I would not interfere with their ability to leave their jobs earlier than the scheduled time, and so they could cut corners.

As I stated before, I've never felt this way in any prior position over years of experience. I have faced negativity. I've faced people trying to undermine me. I've faced a two-faced manager who strategically ruined the workplace for me because she was threatened by my being next in line to co-manage the store with her. I have been in many uncomfortable work situations both physical and emotional and I have never felt personally threatened. I know the difference. Implying that I'm going to have issues, in your words, "finding any kind of employment" with the "attitude (I) have" (again, directly invalidating my experience by assuming that I am blame-shifting and have experienced this elsewhere or will use this as some sort of coercive tactic in the future) is ludicrous. I'm young, not naive.

Also, I never said I have no blame in this, so for you to assume that I feel zero blame here is again a vast overreach of your assumed knowledge. We have never spoken before, and likely never will again. I recognize that I have likely made mistakes in this position, but that does not excuse the managerial staff at this workplace from incorrectly handling this issue. However, my post isn't a question of who's to blame. My post is asking about, given my experience as someone who expressed fear and discomfort to HR and was subsequently ignored and put on leave at the first sign of trouble, whether or not that is something that others feel to be wrongdoing by the company. The fact that I even have to discuss what I may or may not have experienced with someone just because they don't experience fear the same way I do is mind-boggling.

I didn't want to have to go into the specifics on why I was feeling fear because I found it irrelevant. My question was whether or not the company is acting unlawfully, not whether or not I was experiencing discrimination. It was pre-established that I was being discriminated against, and I gave a brief background, touching on the fear I experienced.

Your diatribes were not advice, and did not provide any solution. You could have said "I don't understand why you're feeling threatened, but based on what I understand I don't think you have a legal case," and left it at that, instead of going on to say things about my "attitude" and whether or not I was inflating the details. If you read your first response again, you'll see that you're actually the one who begun the tangent.

You went into detail about how you felt that what I experienced was nonthreatening and simply "rude," and I replied back with a single paragraph saying that your comments did not accurately reflect my experience. You then launched into your first diatribe, a multi-paragraph response, in which you commented on my "attitude" and assumed I take zero responsibility for any behavior I may have displayed in a workplace where I was targeted for being different.

I didn't cast the first stone here, honey, but I won't sit here and let them only be thrown at me.