By Maya Miller | Sacramento Bee
Evan Underwood didn’t want to quit his information technology job with the California Department of General Services. But to protect his own health and safety, he felt he had no other choice.
The 32-year-old former state worker lives with an autoimmune disorder that prevents his body from properly regulating its internal temperature.
POTS, short for postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome, is a genetic condition that causes Underwood to overheat whenever he’s in an environment warmer than about 70 degrees. His heart starts racing — often reaching 160 to 170 beats per minute. He starts feeling dizzy. Sometimes, he’ll even pass out. When in public, Underwood relies on a wheelchair, and he no longer drives himself. He barely leaves his house except for emergencies.
That’s why Underwood was shocked when he learned there would be no exceptions to his state agency’s two-day return-to-office policy. Not even for someone like him — a person with a disability and a doctor’s note to prove it. “A warm office is actually a big medical problem for me,” Underwood said. “I literally get a fever.”
But for some state workers who live with disabilities, returning to the office is a health and safety concern. Reasonable accommodations for people with disabilities also are a right guaranteed by the California Fair Employment and Housing Act.
“There is a really big problem with HR departments, including at the state and elsewhere, assuming that all work-from-home requests are a preference,” said Paula Tobler, a supervising attorney with the nonprofit advocacy group Disability Rights California. “That’s not the case when you’re talking about a disability accommodation.
Read more at: Sacramento Bee