Worker Says They Were Pushed to Come Into Office, Fired Over Disability

A worker claimed in a now-viral post that they were fired last week because of their disability.

"Manager [pushed] me to come in sick on a [work-from-home day] for a 'really important reason'...to fire me" the worker said, posting in Reddit's "Antiwork" forum under the username u/TrappedandFlightless.

The post has amassed over 25,000 upvotes and more than 1,200 comments from stunned Redditors, some of whom accused u/TrappedandFlightless's manager of violating the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

What is the ADA?

Marc Edelman, an attorney with Morgan & Morgan, told Newsweek that the Americans with Disabilities Act is a law that requires employers to make reasonable accommodations for employees with disabilities.

"The law was enacted to ensure that people who have disabilities have the same opportunities to hold employment as everybody else in the population," Edelman said. "So, the law makes it illegal to discriminate against somebody on the basis of their disability if a reasonable accommodation [would] allow them to perform the essential functions of their job."

For example, say a disabled employee needed extra time to complete a necessary job certification. The law doesn't require the employer to waive the certification. Instead, they'd need to make a reasonable accommodation, such as extending the deadline. If an employee were blind, an employer might need to present the certification materials in braille or hire someone to read the materials aloud to the employee.

'Antiwork'

In their post, u/TrappedandFlightless said they had a hybrid position, meaning they could work from home when they wanted.

"[This was] perfect for me because I have an unpredictable health condition, so when it flares up, it's best to be at home," they said.

u/TrappedandFlightless said they worked from home two days a week, and their manager had "no issue" with which days those were. Last week, however, their boss asked them to come in during one of their remote days. u/TrappedandFlightless protested because they felt sick, but their boss said it was "important." So, they rushed into the office.

"Guess why she really needed me in the office [that day]? To fire me," u/TrappedandFlightless said. "Apparently, the time needed to train me while working around my disability was inefficient."

Newsweek reached out to u/TrappedandFlightless for comment. We could not verify the details of the case.

Redditors React

Many Redditors accused u/TrappedandFlightless's manager of violating the ADA and encouraged u/TrappedandFlightless to contact a lawyer.

"So they fired you without providing reasonable accommodation for an openly stated health issue. Sounds like [a] serious violation of the ADA," u/Jrhoney said.

"Speak to an employment attorney. If you are in the US and you are covered by ADA, your employer is required to make 'reasonable accommodation,'" SnooCauliflowers9981 wrote.

u/OdinTheHugger added: "Sounds like an ADA issue, especially if they said anything about your disability at the meeting [when] they fired you. I'd talk to a lawyer."

Before contacting a lawyer, Edelman advised employees to think through the "essential functions" of their jobs.

"They might want to ask themselves, [if] the employer were to grant their requested accommodation, would they still be able to perform those essential functions?" Edelman said. "If they believe that they can, and they addressed it with the employer, and the employer refused, then they might want to consider contacting a knowledgeable employment law attorney to determine what the next steps might be."

More Viral Posts

In September, Redditors slammed a boss who told an employee via email to stop being sad at work.

Commenters bashed an employer that purportedly hid a labor law poster after employees started asking questions.

And a worker went viral after sharing that they got fired for refusing to work Sundays.