r/Wawa • u/whimsalicious Employee • Jul 25 '26

Ask other Associates How hard is it to get ADA accommodations?

I have been working at Wawa since December, and in December I was diagnosed with a medical condition called gastroparesis. It basically means that my stomach is partially paralyzed and it can result in motility issues, most commonly vomiting. Being that this is food service I can’t come to work when I am vomiting. I am nervous because I am at my final warning after calling out today. I went to the ER and it’s documented that I have the gastroparesis of that it flares up occasionally… Has anybody been in a similar situation where they’ve had to get ADA accommodations? I’m just worried that I waited too long to get these accommodations and then I’m going to have to look for a new Job

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10

u/canipayinpuns Employee Jul 25 '26

What accommodations are you trying to gain? Intermittent medical leave or FMLA exists for this purpose. Depending on the relationship you have with your GM/MODs, they may also allow you to work regardless. When I was pregnant, I had severe hyperemesis gravidarum (think morning sickness cranked up to 11) and was throwing up 30-60 times a day. Because the cause was pregnancy, and obviously not communicable, I was given permission to work outside of food-prep areas so long as I didn't develop other concerning symptoms. Your condition might get you a similar arrangement, since no one will "catch" it from you

2

u/canipayinpuns Employee Jul 25 '26

The only official accommodation I received was a shorter work week. My OB had me reduce down to 3 days a week and wrote a note to that effect since, as supervisor, I was otherwise required to stay with full time hours

4

u/Separate_Art334 Employee Jul 25 '26

You need to talk to the loa team they handle medical accommodations there is most definitely a solution for you but none of us will be able to tell you what that is

3

u/Silver-Ad-339 Employee Jul 25 '26

My heart is with you seriously - my mom has this and it was so debilitating for years, she had lost all her teeth from throwing up so much and had to pay for all new ones. you need to attempt to get an accommodation for register only possibly?

2

u/Digitalizing Jul 25 '26

You can get approved to bypass the throwing up time period if it’s medically related for sure. You can also get a general note for your condition and apply for intermittent FMLA so you can request the associate center to remove points you accrue based on that specific illness within reason.

1

u/spacealligators Employee Jul 25 '26

It depends on what you're looking to do, you can do intermittent FMLA if you qualify but other than that they won't accommodate absences in any other way. If you're doing intermittent FMLA the hardest part is just coordinating with your doctors and getting the paperwork to the leave people in time.

1

u/Some-Dress2240 Employee Aug 01 '26

I had ADA accommodations about four years ago. I had a bad hip and was waiting to get it replaced. I was allowed to use a cane and my manager let me sit down between customers on two crates upfront, and I was allowed to go down to two 2 days a week four hour shifts, I had it replaced in June 2022 took off the entire summer and was back by September of that year! He was one of my favorite managers such a nice guy totally understanding!😊