There's nothing quite like a workplace claiming to be inclusive, only for coworkers to make ableist and critical remarks when someone is in well-documented need of a medical device.
Redditor Rosi_ana was one such person, as she chronicled the saga on the "Am I Overreacting?" (AIO) subReddit, of being criticized and shamed by her boss for being "disruptive to the workplace" because she needed a feeding pump that sometimes beeped.
In her first post in the medical saga, the Original Poster (OP) began receiving passive-aggressive emails from her boss, urging her not to use her medical device at work.
The OP explained:
"Am I overreacting for feeling weird when I got told not to use my feeding pump at work?"
The OP had a feeding pump she had to use throughout most of the day each day.
"I (21 Female) have a medical condition and use a feeding tube during my shifts."
"It’s under my shirt, you can’t see anything, but I carry around a backpack with my feeding pump. I have to be connected for 20+ hours a day."
"I’ve been upfront about it since I was hired, and my manager has always said it was fine as long as I step away when I need to."
The OP's feeding pump had a mile malfunction during a work shift.
"Today, I stepped into the back room to adjust my feeding pump because it started beeping."
"It probably went off for maybe all of ten seconds before I got it sorted."
"I had been working on a project and didn’t realise I needed to refill my bag, so I didn’t catch it before it started beeping."
The OP then received a concerning email from her boss.
"Later in the day, I got an email from my manager that felt passive-aggressive. It basically said, 'Disruptions on the floor affect team focus,' and that I should 'complete what I need before my shift or in designated areas.'"
You can read the email here:
"I wanted to follow up after today regarding the equipment that emitted an alarm during your shift."
"While I understand you have a personal medical routine that requires use of this device, the alert sounds are still disruptive in the work environment, even when brief."
"Going forward, could you please avoid using the device when you are in the office?"
"If possible, it may be better to complete its use before your shift or during your breaks in a designated quiet area so we can avoid any interruptions."
"I realize this may require some adjustment, so please let me know if you'd like to discuss alternative arrangements. Thanks."
u/Rosi_ana/Reddit
The OP felt conflicted after receiving the email.
"It honestly made me feel weird because I did handle it immediately. It just takes a few seconds for the pump to stop beeping once it alerts. It wasn’t a long time at all, and this may be the second time since I’ve started working here that it’s beeped."
"I replied, just saying I always step away as soon as it goes off, but now I feel really self-conscious about it, and I don’t know if I’m overthinking the tone of the email or if it actually was inappropriate."
Fellow Redditors weighed in:
- NOR: Not Overreacting
- YOR: You're Overreacting
Fellow Redditors urged the OP to share this email with HR and continue documenting the boss's behavior.
"'I would like to begin the interactive process for accommodations.' Copy HR on this response."
"NOR. He really screwed the pooch putting that in writing for sure." - 9ScoreAnd10Door
"NOR."
"Have your doctor provide documentation that you must have the feeding pump on at least 20 hours per day. Submit this letter to both your boss and HR. If he then continues to hassle you, save all written communication and make notes of any oral conversations, and submit to HR, letting them know."
"If you have already done this, forward his communication to HR. If not, get it on file; otherwise, you have no verifiable proof that your employer is aware of the full accommodation needed." - -EvilLittleGoat-
"Definitely NOR."
"Regarding notes about any oral communication, I definitely agree. What I do is I send an email after any in-person discussion that's basically, 'Just to confirm that I understand our prior conversation, you said blah blah blah. If I have that wrong, please let me know,' and that way it's documented." - TinHawk
"...You stated 20+ hours of use per day, unless I completely misread something. He needs a reminder, probably from a Dr and HR, that unless he is okaying you only work four hours or less a day, but can still get your regular salary, that he wants you to pretend you don't have a medical condition and ignore the consequences of said ridiculous action."
"Does he ask people in wheelchairs to leave them in their car and pretend they can walk during the day?" - PhoenixInMySkin
"Holy s**t, he cannot ask you to modify a medical routine for a banal reason as noise ONCE. What about when phones go off? Unlike your device, your coworkers have to answer those; are they not disruptive to workflow, then?" - PotLuckyPodcast
In a second post in the medical saga, despite Human Resources being up-to-date on the OP's case, the OP's boss continued to question her use of the medical feeding pump in the workplace.
She asked the sub this time:
"Am I overreacting by feeling conflicted about my manager continuing to question my feeding pump at work, even after HR stepped in?"
Tensions were still high between the OP and her boss, despite HR getting involved.
"I posted last week about issues with my feeding pump at work, and my manager sending a passive-aggressive email about 'disruptions.'"
"HR got involved, and they were actually supportive. They confirmed my medical accommodation is valid and basically said I’m not doing anything wrong. They said they’d talk to my manager, and everything was fine until today."
"I thought that would be the end of it, honestly, but now there’s been another development, and I feel kind of embarrassed and unsure if I should escalate again or just drop it and stop being so overdramatic about the whole thing."
"Since the first issue, when my pump beeped because the bag needed to be refilled, my manager has still been acting off."
"He’s made a few comments about me stepping away and once even asked me to explain how my feeding pump works, which felt a bit condescending, but I tried to brush it off. It wasn’t anything overtly rude, and I could work around it, so I didn’t care all that much."
"Then today, he sent another email directly to me. I attached it so everybody can read without me having to explain."
You can read the email here:
"I want to follow up regarding recent discussions about interruptions during shifts."
"I understand that HR has reviewed your situation and confirmed your accommodation, and I am not questioning that."
"However, I do want to reiterate that frequent disruptions on the floor can impact team workflow and concentration, especially during peak periods."
"While I recognize this may be outside of what can be formally adjusted through HR, I would still ask that you remain as mindful as possible about timing and visibility of equipment use, so that interruptions to others are kept to a minimum."
"This is not meant as a criticism, but rather a request to consider how this affects the broader team environment."
u/Rosi_ana/Reddit
The OP wasn't sure what to think after receiving this email.
"It felt weird and just like he was crossing a boundary."
"Like he’s acknowledging I’m allowed to have the accommodation, but also kind of implying I shouldn’t be using it in a way that affects anyone else at all, which it doesn’t, and my coworkers have reassured me they aren’t bothered and don’t care in the slightest."
"HR already said everything is fine on their end, so now I don’t know if I’m just being too sensitive or if this is actually still worth bringing back up again."
"I don’t want to create any drama or risk my job because this truly is a job I enjoy, but I just feel kind of awkward and singled out at this point, and I’m unsure if escalating to HR again is the right decision."
"AIO?"
Fellow Redditors urged the OP to stay in communication with Human Resources.
"Forward it to HR and let them handle it. He is swimming in very dangerous territory. His text is very plainly trying to ask you to go around the accommodations without going around the accommodations, and he's opening your company up to legal action by doing so."
"Forward it to HR, let them know that he's still making comments and asking you inappropriate questions about your health condition and medical equipment, and then he sent this, and let them handle it."
"You are not being too sensitive, and you are not being overly dramatic. He is overstepping in a big way." - roseofjuly
"This manager is playing with fire. We all know HR is there to protect the company, but this is one of the rare situations where that fact will work in the employee’s favor." - MikeFrancesa66
"Please never forget that HR is not there to protect YOU; it's there to protect the COMPANY. But in this case, they could work in the OP's favor, because HR firing the manager is still an act of protecting the company's best interests."
"The company does not want a lawsuit, and likely will look down on its employee (the manager), exposing the company to liability. Fortunately, that also works in OP's favor." - Forward-Cockroach945
"Just forward it to them. You don’t even need to include commentary; just say, 'I received this' and let them come to their conclusions. This is deeply inappropriate, and your manager definitely, actually knows it." - drindrum
"Not only should this person forward it to HR, but they should also document to HR the other comments that occurred between the first meeting and now."
"He's using all this language to try to distance himself from the fact that he won't stop complaining about a legal accommodation he doesn't like."
"It's also vital to record all this because even if HR corrects him, he's the direct supervisor of this person, and often they retaliate by giving poor performance reviews as an excuse to let someone go."
"So this all needs to be on record." - LaVerBurtonAsBubble
But this conversation was ultimately all in vain, as the OP's manager clearly got his wish, and the OP was let go from her position because she was simply "too disruptive" to the rest of the team.
She asked the sub:
"Am I overreacting for feeling that being fired over a medical accommodation isn't okay and wanting to do something about it?"
The OP got fired for the boss's recurring concerns at work.
"I have a feeding tube and need to be connected 20 hours per day. It’s not visible except for a small backpack with the pump."
"It beeped briefly once at work, my manager sent a passive-aggressive email about being 'disruptive,' I went to HR, and they confirmed my medical accommodation was valid and that I wasn’t doing anything wrong."
"After that, my manager kept making comments and sent another email that felt off. I had a follow-up with HR, and they again reassured me everything was fine and said they’d handle it."
"A few days later, I got called into a meeting and was fired."
The reason that was given was a "disruptive atmosphere," though that didn't make sense.
"They said it was due to 'ongoing disruptions' and 'team expectations.' The only example they gave was my feeding pump beeping and me stepping away briefly, which is literally the same thing HR had already approved."
"I asked if it was related to my medical condition/accommodation, and they said no, but I don’t really know how else to interpret it."
"They didn’t mention any other disruptions, which is part of why I’m so confused. They kept it really vague, and when I asked for examples, the only thing they brought up was the pump beeping and me stepping away briefly during shifts (all related to my medical accommodations)."
"I also never had any write-ups, disciplinary meetings, or negative performance reviews before this. Actually, the opposite, I had literally just gotten a pay increase not long before I was fired."
The OP considered pursuing legal action.
"As for paperwork, they gave me termination documents, but it mostly just said I was being let go because it 'wasn’t a good fit' and mentioned 'team expectations' and 'workplace disruptions' without really specifying anything further."
"I didn’t sign anything agreeing not to pursue anything legally or anything like that; I just took the paperwork they gave me and declined signing anything else."
"About a week before I was fired, I spoke to a lawyer, just to be safe. At the time, they basically said there wasn’t much they could do yet and to keep documenting everything."
"So after I got fired today, I reached back out, and they said this is 'more significant,' but still didn’t seem super confident and mentioned these cases can take a long time and aren’t guaranteed."
"My mom thinks I should just let it go and find a new job instead of dragging it out and stressing myself out more. She has a point because stress like this generally makes my condition worse."
The OP felt how she was treated was unjustified.
"But, I feel really torn because, on one hand, I don’t want to spend months dealing with legal stuff or make my life harder, and on the other hand, this feels really unfair, and I keep thinking about the fact that HR literally told me I was doing nothing wrong."
"It seems like such an insane breach of my rights. HR has been contacted multiple times by me over my manager bringing this up, and told me each time I was fine, and I was never told to change anything, etc."
"I can’t stop second-guessing myself on whether I was actually causing more disruption than I realized? Even though it was seconds and only happened a couple of times in literal years."
"AIO?"
Fellow Redditors urged the OP to take the next step after being wrongfully terminated.
"I have seen your posts from the beginning. SUE THEMMMMMMMM." - Excellent-Dream86
"I’ve been reading your posts and am infuriated on your behalf. Please consider a lawsuit (and meet with more than one attorney until you find one you like). You should definitely find a different job now, as a lawsuit may take a couple of years. You’re not getting this job back, but you will probably get a settlement." - Duke-of-Hellington
"I saw your post the other day! This is crazy. The disruptions are because your boss is obsessed with this issue and is letting it distract them from their work. That’s not your fault."
"I’m so sorry you’re going through this! Pursue action to whatever is reasonable with what you can afford (don’t bankrupt yourself over it, despite them being 1000% in the wrong), and best of luck." - Maleficent_Effort_47
"I, too, have been watching your posts, and I, too, have been fired for medical shit when I was too young to know better."
"So I'll say this: Ahem:"
"SUE THEIR A**ES OFF UNTIL THEY’RE BALANCING AWKWARDLY ON THEIR PELVISES. THEN WE’LL SEE WHO WANTS MEDICAL ACCOMMODATIONS." - AliceMorgon
"NOR, and don't accept any offer of giving you your job back in lieu of the lawsuit and restitution owed you."
"They would hire you back and then just find another reason to fire you that isn't related to your disability a short time later."
"I would also require that your supervisor complete mandatory ADA compliance and laws training, along with those in HR who approved your pink slip." - Misa7_2006
This situation absolutely did not work out in the OP's favor, and it's a great example of the lengths that Human Resources will often go to in order to protect their company, rather than the people who keep the company running.
Assuming the OP was being honest about her clean record of working for the company, it sounded more like the boss was distracting himself with worrying about the OP's health and her receiving an accommodation that he did not receive himself.
A person's inability to stay focused on their own work because they are jealous should never be grounds for firing.
