There are two laws in the United States which help ill patients:
- The Family and Medical Leave Act allows employees to take up to 12 weeks off each year for medical or family emergencies — but without pay.
- The Americans With Disabilities Act requires employers to make reasonable adjustments for disabled workers, often in the form of additional time off.
Workers with chronic illnesses face chronic uncertainty, forced to worry not only about their health but about their jobs as well.
The protections afforded chronically ill workers in the United States are thin and somewhat vague. To protect their health and their jobs, workers must navigate employers’ policies, which may include short- and long-term disability plans, as well as a patchwork of federal laws and regulations.
A recent study by the Center for Economics and Policy Research, a Washington research organization, found that among 22 rich nations, the United States was the only one that did not guarantee workers paid time off for illness.
Most other countries provide their workers not only with paid sick days, but also time off for cancer treatments, the study found. German citizens, for example, are allowed five sick days and 44 days for cancer treatment, if needed, in addition to vacation days.
Most employers in the United States allow employees to take days off for minor ailments, like the flu or outpatient operations, without docking their pay. And 41 percent offer employees days off — nine, on average — for illness or other reasons, in addition to vacation days, according to a 2007 survey by Mercer, a benefits consulting business based in New York.
But when an employee has a serious or chronic illness, like diabetes, major depression or lupus, the rules about time off become murky.
ASK FOR ADJUSTMENTS
If your illness meets the definition of a disability, your employer is required to make reasonable accommodations to your job or work environment, according to the Americans With Disabilities Act.
What is a disability? ”It’s a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities.
Although your illness may be episodic or controlled by medications, it is still a disability, according to a recent amendment to the law.
Your employer does not have to provide an accommodation if it would impose significant difficulty or expense. Asking for a car and driver to take you to and from work would probably not be reasonable. However, taking time off for chemotherapy treatments is.
Top Five Disability Accomodations
According to the Society for Human Resource Managers, the top five accommodations for the disability act provided by employers in 2005 (the last year for which data are available) were:
- parking or transportation modifications,
- making existing facilities accessible,
- offering new equipment to workers,
- restructuring jobs and
- modifying the work environment.
If you are not sure what type of accommodations you are entitled to or how to ask for them, contact the Job Accommodation Network (800-526-7234), a service provided by the federal Department of Labor. In general, the network recommends that you put your request to your employer in writing. If you work in a small, informal setting, that may not be necessary.
KNOW THE TIME-OFF POLICIES
You can learn about the on-the-books rules by going to your company’s intranet or speaking with its human resources department.
If you need to take a few weeks or months off for an operation, for example, or chemotherapy, research your company’s short- and long-term disability plans. Disability policies typically allow you to take a specific time off at reduced pay. According to Mercer, the consulting firm, 78 percent of employers offer short-term plans and 80 percent offer long-term disability plans.
You can also tap into your 12 weeks of family and medical leave at any time. You may take the time intermittently or all at once. You will not be paid, but your job will be secure.
Social Security Disability
If your illness finally prohibits you from working altogether, you may apply for Social Security disability insurance. The amount you are paid is based on your lifetime earnings — you can find the number on the annual statement you receive from the Social Security Administration.