Postpartum Depression Accommodation from Employer

it might be too late, but my 1st rec would be for her NOT to tell her boss that she has a mental illness. Unfortunatly that still caries a stigma. Also, he employee may be trying to give her the boot. I was unemployer, and dealing w/ employees that are forever sick is very hard. a business needs to run. If I were her, i'd go to human resources, try not to cry, (because, that is VERY unprofessional) and suck it up and ask what her options are. Human resources has to help her. 2 hrs a week doesn't sound like much, but, I wonder what the employers side of the story is. They do not HAVE to give her the time. and if they want her gone, they won't give her what she wants. She is in a tough place, and right now, no one wants to look for a job.

If she has been with them for over a year she qualifies for FMLA. It allows her up to 12 weeks off a year for any illness, it doesn't have to be 3 mo all at once she can take an hour a day or a day at a time.
If she has been there a year then tell her to go to HR and ask for the paperwork. They may try to tell her that it is part of pregnancy and she can't use another 3 mo. but it is a separate condition and she can.
She will have to go to her doctor and get the form filled out and they don't have to accommodate her until she gets the forms back to them but after that she is protected by Federal Law.
If she uses this it not only protects her job but her position and pay rate as well. They can change her actual place-assistant to one department and then changed to another-but they cannot fire her, alter her position-(executive secretary to file clerk)-or decrease her pay because of this condition.
Also, if she has worked there almost a year she can apply once she hits that date. Her time off is only protected after the year mark but if she can hold on til then it covers her. Have her ask for the paperwork first and get it filled out so that as soon as she hits the day she as it ready to go.

If she hasn't been there a year there really isn't any law or mandate to force her employer to help her. They may do it out of the kindness of their hearts but they don't have to make any accommodations for her-they can move her, decrease her pay, or even fire her for not completing her job. Sorry.
Good Luck.

you never said where your daughter worked. if she is working with the military she is probably screwed. ive known too many people in that situation.

if its a regular business then i know that they do not like lawsuits. find a lawyer, this is not fair, even if it is not breaking a law they can not fire her for being depressed. a lawyer will probably be able to help as long as the lawyer is someone you know or feel that you can trust.

you can also try a web search on the california employment laws.
i would not ever stand for this. if my employer were to ever have mentioned anything about laying me off, i would come right back at him with a lawsuit threat. we have done that before with the student housing we used to live in. they were going to evict us because of rumors they heard about us that they could not prove. they ended up not evicting us after we threatened a lawsuit, but i still wanted to sue them.

anyway, i hope this turns out alright for your daughter! injustice is not what america is about.

You said she was seeing a psychiatrist, maybe they would know of some resources you could tap into. Chances are some of their other patients might have experienced the same thing.

I'm not sure if this qualifies under the Americans with Disabilities Act or not, but it possibly might since she has a Doctor's letter. The law just changed, for the better, for employment issues. If your daughter only wants an accommodation for two hours weekly, as an employer, I can't understand why they would deny it and run the risk of having a complaint filed against them. You might check with the Labor Dept or EDD and they might be able to refer you to the proper agency to get some advice. There are attorneys who specialize in disability cases, but it sounds as if money could be a problem. Also, are there any possibilities of just bringing her work hours to 38 for the time being? That is so close to full time you'd think they could put up with that.

S. Toji