Hi - my wife has a seizure disorder. Few months ago at her job the company implemented new initiatives and she had to start traveling which makes her seizures worse. Her doctor gave her a note using form WH-380-E stating that her condition is lifelong and she is not able to perform a job function – travel. She submitted a request for accommodation. Her HR group told her that going forward on the days she'd have to travel, she can't go the office but needs to stay home at take a day off (firstly vacation and then unpaid) until she exhausts 12 weeks under FMLA. Is it legal to force her to stay home?
thank you. We did look at ada act and examples of the situations there. My question is more around of an employer applying FMLA policy here, but her situations doesn't seem to fall under serious medical conditions under FMLA description.
Our thinking was the she'd be accommodated under ADA law automatically since not being able to travel can hardly impose on her employer "undue hardship or cost" (at least in our mind). As far as FMLA goes, how does it apply here if she doesn't need to "leave for any period of incapacity or treatment"? From the FMLA description, it sounds like it's more applicable in cases of hospitalization, but her condition is controlled by medicine and she doesn't have to leave work for treatments and such.
Am i correct in thinking that fmla and ada are two independent laws?