Can I give up please?

LustyLombax

38673

798

It finally happened. After my doctor cleared me to go back to work 3 days a week 1550-1800 hours. That was my schedule. I usually did it 5 days a week but. It took me pleading with her to let me go back 3 days a week.

Well I sent in the doctors info to work and the MRI findings from May 22, 2025. My manager called me at 1424 and explained that he felt my safety was most important. The job is not safe for me anymore due to the drivers; possibility of an incident because of a careless driver.

If I have a seizure at work it's not gunna be good. My back seems to be the trigger to my seizures and my job requires a bit of up and down over a curb. This is not a good combo and my boss realizes that.

The plus side is he wrote me an amazing letter of recommendation and told me that he would gladly accept phone calls about me. But alas I am now unemployed and scared.

I have been applying for jobs this entire time and I have been going to interviews. People do not like potential employees who come in with a cane.. I have been trying my ass off to find a job close to home since I use the Portland TriMet system.

It's been a nightmare to find a job but I'm trying. I filed for unemployment today as well but I'm not sure if I will get it.

Edit:

I reached out to a lawyers office. Sent them the information about what happened, per y'all's recommendations.

Also please it is She/her. 34 MtF :3 please and thanks lol.

Edit 2:

This has blown up so I'll add on. Yes I realize now it's stupid I did it. I was bawling my eyes out, in pain. Not sure what to do and being told I can't safely do the job.

I have been on medical leave since January 3rd 2025 due to my back issues and concussion. And the seizures started after the concussion.

I talked to a lovely lady at the Oregon one benefits center who is also disabled and she gave me a ton of information on what to do. Much like what y'all have told me already. So I have done what is said. I reached out to an employment attorney and explained the case.

Right now I can't do much more than wait. For unemployment, I was told I would get it because of the circumstances as long as it is thoroughly explained.

I will also talk to my disability lawyer to see if they think anything can/should be done. Or if they have an attorney to tackle this new case

Edit 3:

Big update, Oregon being a 1 party consent state, I had recorded the phone call. I have a program on my phone that records my calls for me and it did indeed catch the call with my manager. So I have the entire conversation recorded.

PinkSmuggler

This sounds a lot like when I was pregnant my visa just didn't want me back because I was a mom now

10 months ago |

Thapoopthattookapee

Not sure what your career is but I can empathize. I had a stroke 2 years ago at 50 and many complications since. I have found https://www.upwork.com/ to be amazing for working while recovering. I hope you get help.

Everyonesfavorite

@OP Fuck no, you can not give up! You are just starting a new chapter

jetah

Any work from home you can with previous employer? (I realize that might not be an option now.)

Calicious

Uh WHAT?

NEVER resign. They were coving their ass and avoiding severance at the same time. Damn dude, they fucked you

Exciting about your lawyer! And in my state unemployment can take up to 6wks to get. Maybe hunt down some other assistance places in advance in the mean time just in case (food pantry, utility or rent help, ridesharing)

StevenAlleyn

Yeah the ADA protects you on this I’m pretty sure

orty

Since you mentioned you were in Oregon, you might want to talk to the state employment office. Oregon is very employee friendly and will make poopy employer's lives hell, but one of their rules for several things they go to bat for is that you haven't retained a lawyer already. So if you already have a lawyer, you're on your own.

kaitekarue

Depending on the position and safety of the employees they may be protected for asking you to leave the POSITION but not the company.

bigmug2

You could have refused to resign and sue them when they fire you.

ChristopherHallett

Oooft, in a civilised country you could sue the everloving fuck out of them for this.

Chakra5

Ask the company to write a letter with their rational on it. It will demonstrate that an employer is passing because of your condition. It could help for unemployment and disability.

Amomani

Why would you resign? You're in the US? That's an ADA violation.

mrthewhitee

Do not ever resign for medical reasons. You may be forfeiting any compensation or medical benefits you are entitled to.

225

nicelyvillainous

If nothing else, having them let you go instead of resigning means you get to claim unemployment benefits.

Roseem

1550 to 1800? You only worked 2hrs a day 5 days a week before January?

InfocalypseRising

They “asked you to resign” because firing you for a disability is illegal. You got conned.

201

sofako41404

Plus, resigning means ineligible for unemployment usually.

relsky

I'm 6 hours too late, but it's literally illegal for the manager to even suggest they should look for another job. It's the employers' responsibility to accommodate disabilities.

And for anyone else who has a disability, if you apply for a job, you do NOT have to disclose it during interviews. Tell them only after you're hired, and tell them you need an accommodation.

Grenateh

I'm fairly confident this is an ADA violation.

ImKindaDone

ADA complaint. if the ADA is still worth anything, you have a solid claim. Work is required by law to make reasonable accommodations.

If not, a lawyer should be able to get you a decent parting gift out of it.

whatexactlyisthefunctionofarubberduck

I'm sorry to hear that. If you drive, it could be dangerous..in the UK you legally cannot drive for a year after a seizure. Is that his concern?

KommanderKayriel

They wanted to get rid of an employee with a health problem they might have to pay for, and by tricking him into resigning, it keeps them from having to pay what they owe for severance and in an ADA lawsuit for illegal and wrongful termination.

jesterfoole

Never resign. Always make them fire you. If they convince you to quit, they can deny severance and avoid wrongful termination suits.

monsteroflove

Get an attorney. You were “constructively terminated. “

animatronicChristmasChickens

Good luck to you! Also, you should check to see if you are eligible for unemployment

Also a good reason to never resign, if they downsize you, you get unemployment, if you resign, generally not.

ArcaneM37

I've been out of work due to illness for 9 years. Finally got neurosurgery and am getting better, but 5 months of job hunting has come up dry. A 9 year resume gap is hard to overcome.

historycat

I hope you have some document of them asking you to resign. Get a lawyer ASAP.

I do and a recording

Take it to an attorney.

I plan on doing so, I reached out to one and waiting for their response. I'm also reaching out to work source Oregon

zerneus

Never resign seizures are a disability for which you were discriminated against get a lawyer. You were coerced. That is a statement not a question.

684

Xerxes4242

If you get diagnosed with seizures you cannot drive and that's not discrimination.

stupidbastardinutah

They're 100% correct. My place of employment did the same and got their ass sued. Had to pay out lost wages and give said employee their position back.

136

azazyel

https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/fmla

Whodimi

My work has functions with safety critical tasks, which are clearly defined. We are forced to do a yearly medical examination. Seizures would mean the safety critical tasks can not be done safely. My work would then be obliged to find a function with no safety critical tasks involved. I don't know OP's situation, but he should get legal advice before making any decision.

Goatfer

Also by quitting because of a medical reason makes getting unemployment impossible as they will say you need to apply for disability instead.

tallyhoho

100% this

164

YummyBubb1es

Also if you resign you don't get unemployment. never resign unless you have a better job lined up

Yes and the company absolutely planned that. It's abusive and wrong

Imissmylurk

This. I would start looking into and learning your rights. ADA.gov

PorneliusHubertII

This was all I could think about while reading. It would have been better to have them fire OP, then legal action.

PinkyTheUnicorn2

While seizures are a disability and are protected, disabilities are only protected to an extent. An employer needs to offer a “reasonable accommodation” to the disabled person, which judges define what “reasonable” means. For example, a person who has narcolepsy wouldn’t be successful suing to keep their job as a bus driver, because employers could not reasonably allow them to work that job.

sirdouglasbuttersworth

In Canada the requirement to accommodate is up to the point of "undue hardship" on the employer, which is a very high bar. Like sure driving a bus with narcolepsy is out but the employer would need to find the person other work to do such as office work.

KentKnifen

Reasonable accommodation includes transferring them to do something else with equivalent pay.

Hence why I said “keeping their job as a bus driver.”

arikelrecords2000

Bussing companies have a lot of positions including dispatcher and HR, both are pretty safe from a narcolepsy issue. They need to accommodate or transfer positions. They don't get to fire you for being disabled

vodkaho

Not if OP is in the US. Given the overall leniency and human-ness of the boss though, that seems unlikely.

charondaboatman

Oh, yes if in the U.S.. you can’t be terminated or coerced to quit because of a disability. Huge lawsuit.

You can be fired for non disability reasons with no recourse. OP wasn't fired due to their disability, but in the name of the safety of others. That's a defensible position, IMHO. I'm not any kind of labor law specialist or lawyer, but I've been abused by employers often enough to know they can and will get away with 99.9999% of anything they want.

Employer mentioned disabled employee’s safety and the carelessness of other drivers in his employ. Sounds specific to the disability, to me.

Yes, he can be fired for no reason, except a reason was reasonably believed to be given as the disability and ADA is a thing in the US.

Sorry *SHE. I DIDN'T SEE THE EDIT AT FIRST.

Well, until next week's EO...

NLOVNI

Our system is fucked up. If a seizure potentially puts them or others in harms way then the right thing to do is not do that position. If his health was a condition of employment then the company has grounds to remove him from that position. If not then what?

DarkJaeger

Desk job. Any company should have them. This is 100% both unethical and illegal. It's lawyer time.

Ryebread91

I am not a lawyer but I believe the company needs to find a reasonable position for them first. Say, they go from receiving to accounting for example.

Company is required to try to find alternative work. Answering phones and emails is always an option. Maybe send them to train on how to maintain forklifts etc, because that’s still cheaper than the lawsuit.
In order to let someone go for illness or disability, the company needs to show they couldn’t figure out ANY safe way to do the work, and couldn’t figure out any other work the person could do, and that they made a solid effort to do so. Which is why a lot try to lie or trick into quitting.

By tricking them into quitting instead of firing them, it switches it from a unemployment issue to a disability issue so no unemployment. I had this happen with heart failure. Tried to go back and couldn't even work enough to cover my health insurance. They refused to fire me and if I didn't show up they could fire me with cause.

CptCronos

Problem is they didn't remove her, they convinced her to resign, and that's the part that's not okay, far as I know, atleast here in Canada.

It's she/her. And my manager said it was unsafe for me in the parking garage due to the seizures and potential for something to happen. And I know the office has 8 computers in there.

You might want to consider having them fire you.

At least consult an attorney before resigning. You may have several rights.

Yep, they can absolutely 100% transfer you to different work that is safer. They can’t fire you without documenting that there is literally nothing they can pay you to do safely.

nebknob15

There has to be reasonable accommodation. Depending on the job they do, would it be reasonable to move them into an office position if they are not trained for that position? They also do not have to make a job if there isn't one already available. It also depends on a union vs nonunion facility. There are other factors that come into play. If they live in a right to work vs non right to work state they can fire you without cause. Getting a lawyer is your best option to see if there are any laws

In your state that protect your position.

Nobody is trained for a position until they are.

They can fire you without cause, *unless* they are actually firing you for an illegal reason. Which yes, takes a lawyer, but a lot of businesses think they can get away with it and leave an obvious paper trail in email etc to be subpoenaed.

Comments (96)