[Vicki]

I think that I may have been discriminated against because of my Parkinson's.

This has happened twice.

I teach a nursing assistant class at a local community college. The qualifications to teach this class are mandated by the state.

The first time I was disciminated against was several years ago when my boss retired. I was the logical choice to take her place, but instead they hired someone who was no where near qualified, and the person they hired had to work all summer just to meet the minimum requirements. The head of the nursing department told me "I do not want to stress you out and make you sick again." When they saw how upset I was they created a half time position with benefits just for me. The reason why I did not file a complaint at that time was that my husband had been laid off and we needed the income (and health insurance!).

In the past year or so it has become a lot harder for me to keep up the pace, so last spring I wrote a letter (under the direction of a lawyer) asking for reasonable accomadations. The letter proposed something that I thought I could handle and I asked if we could discuss it. To make a long story short they claimed that I resigned my half time position, which means loosing the benefits. They also kept putting off the meetings to discuss it. In the end all I ended up with was 4 hours a week!

My neurologist said that the stress was making my symptoms worse and suggested that it was time to get out of there and apply for disability with the State Teachers Retirement System. I have done that and expect to hear from them within the next two months.

[pkell]

Vicki,
Not being a lawyer, I really don't know if your treatment qualifies as discrimination, but strickly from a lay person's point of view it sounds like maybe.

You should call a lobor lawyer. They would probably do a consultation for no fee and if it turns out it is doscriminsation may very well take the case on a contingency. In any event it won't hurt to call.

Wish I could be more help.
Pam

[Bob Dawson]

From this distance, I cannot tell if you are being discriminated against or not. Possibly your neurologist is right in saying that the stress is not good for you. All of us with Parkinson's face that future -working less, working not at all, becoming less capable. BUT, there is rampant discrimination as well; fear and prejudice; there are people who are fired from their jobs just for the fact of being diagnosed as having PD, even if they do not have any symptoms affecting their job performance. In some jurisdictions in Canada, they will take away your driver's permit even though you may be the best driver in the world - they don't test you, they just dump you. it's too bad we do not have strong PD associations defending our rights at a local level, available to check out some of these discrimination stories, which have been especially noticeable since some bogus research warned the world that we will embezzle money to go gambling in Vegas, and we get addicted to everything from sex to shopping to chocolate; plus PWP suing the makers of Mirapex are testifying in court that a standard PD drug can make you unaccountable for your own actions. It sets the public perception of PD back about 3 centuries, and that shallow research portraying us as being morally handicapped is used as ammunition by the bigots.
Had a long-running confrontation here locally, when a PWP was fired immediately after being diagnosed. They had me write the letter to the President of the company, which has 600 employees. The letter would be long to post here, but if you go to my chapter 21 and search for "scumbag" you will find the letter (or scroll down most of the way through the chapter. You will recognize it as beginning with this: "I looked up the word "scumbag" in the encyclopedia, and there was your picture. You finally excelled. Your mother must be so proud."
You have to be really sure there is discrimination before you hit this hard. But in this case, there was discrimination, bigotry, stupidity and thick-headedness, and so I hit hard. The letter is just one thing, and he could ignore it. Raiding his company was the main thing. It got talked about a lot in the town.
Erik's story; a long way into Chapter 21. Use "Find" to find "scumbag". Example of severe community action against discrimination: http://parkinsonsdance.blogspot.com/...r-21_3946.html

[Bob Dawson]

Tuesday 22 September 2009 The Telegraph (U.K.)

Parkinson's sufferer banned from playing table tennis

A woman with Parkinson's Disease has been asked not to come to her table tennis club on doubles night for fear that she might injure her playing partners.

Lynne Tombs: Some elderly members at the Gloucestershire club worry she will accidentally hit them during a match Photo: PA
Lynne Tombs, 56, accused Tewkesbury University of the Third Age (U3A) of discrimination after the decision, which does not bar her from quieter nights.
Some members at the Gloucestershire club worry she will accidentally hit them during a match, because her condition can cause her arms to shake.
An active Parkinsons campaigner who also writes poetry, Ms Tombs claims she feels like ''a leper'' and has found it difficult to sleep.
She argues she plays the game as well as others, despite her disability, and can take medication to curb her severest episodes.
She said: ''I think it is discrimination and it's horrible - there are others with health issues such as stroke, epilepsy and diabetes. There's no issue with anyone else, just me, and yet I'm not putting anybody in danger.
''There may have been occasions where I've been a bit unbalanced but I've never fallen over and never hurt anyone.''
Ms Tombs is known in the riverside town for refusing to let her condition affect her life. She recently published Wonderful World, a book featuring 100 of her poems, to raise money for charity.
Pam Pearce, Tewkesbury U3A chairman, said today it was a case of balancing the health and safety of the players with Ms Tombs' right to play.
She denied the club was discriminating against her but said the clubs members, 95 per cent of whom were elderly, were ''a bit concerned'' about partnering her in a match.
She said: ''The situation is that some of the players are a bit concerned that her condition means she cannot control her arm movements very well.
''She probably does see it as discrimination but sometimes in life if you compromise you get more out of it.
''She has difficulty with her arms, meaning there is continual movement. If you put a bat in her hand you can understand why people are a bit concerned.''
She said the group was ''totally non-discriminatory'' and had sympathy Ms Tombs.