Question by Jem
asked on 2022-07-19

I was in a previous role that when due to a poor performance review related to it, I disclosed my disability and asked for accommodations. They put me through the most humiliating experience of my life. They gave me two week to get a doctor to fill out this complex form to prove I needed accommodations my for my disability, completely not understanding that with their HMO health plan, there was no way I could get an appointment in two weeks, let alone, there was no way I could see a specialist (the only one qualified to fill out how complex the form was) in two weeks, since under an HMO plan you need to be referred to a specialist from your PPO. I asked for an extension for the two weeks, they were only willing to give me another week, but I couldn't get an appointment with my PPO for a month, the specialist would have been three months after that. I ended up having to go to my PPO's office during his lunch to try to beg him to fill out the form so I could keep my job, but he didn't feel comfortable filling it out, because he wasn't as knowledgable of my condition. Instead he wrote a note to my supervisor explaining the situation. I still ended up losing my job a few weeks after that by making a mistake related to my disability, even after humiliating myself through the process, literally crying and begging my doctor to help me, and having my supervisors judge me and look down on me for my issues and my inability to follow their timeline. How do I prevent ever making any of my employees go through anything even remotely as shame-inducing as I went through? No one should ever have to go through that. (Sorry, had to explain my situation to exemplify what other organizations are doing to people and how we as a field need to fight against it)