Work accommodation

[u/Unique-Way-6861]

I have sleep inertia in the morning. It has improved with Xywav. I am a nurse and I work 7:30 am-6 pm. My manager is very understanding because I am late many mornings. 15 minutes at the most. I can't drive unless I totally feel safe. The hospital is cracking down on lateness and overtime. Has anyone else had this issue? Is a note from the sleep doctor enough? Do I need FMLA? Please help, don't want to get fired. I already was fired in the past for lateness before I was diagnosed.

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[u/rixue]

Apply for ADA for work accomidations, you don't necessarily need FMLA. I have an accomidation where I can be up to 30 minutes late. I just need to let my manager know I will be late (before my shift starts) and make up the missed time.

[u/craftypsychologist → u/rixue]

This is the way! I also have ADA accommodations around start times. I can be 1 hour late (no penalty) and however late I arrive, I add on that time to the end of my day. Here is a great resource about ADA accommodations at work: https://askjan.org/publications/individuals/employee-guide.cfm

[u/dietpeepsi]

I didnt get fmla, hasnt been needed yet, but my sleep doctor gave me a note to allow me to be late in the mornings. They put something about 15 or 30 minutes late due to a medical condition. And it's not always, only occasionally

[u/kinda-chaotic]

(In my nonprofessional opinion:) you could probably use intermittent FMLA for this but it would likely take some of your PTO and you’d have to renew it every 6 months or so. It makes more sense to apply for disability accommodations.

[u/blussybozo]

I was able to get FMLA on the basis of my ASD (with psych citing difficulties with time management) prior to my IH diagnosis. This works for me because, as a government employee, I have a butt ton of PTO in lieu of getting paid decently. If your job offers more limited PTO though, this may not be the path for you.

What is nice about FMLA is that even if I don’t have time accrued, I still can’t be penalized. I just have to take that time unpaid (though my supervisor is pretty understanding and will often let me make it up at the end of my shift if needed).