I have worked at a very large hospital for 15 years as a computer developer/analyst. I have always gotten excellent merit reviews and last June I received a promotion and a large salary increase. In May, I went out on medical leave for major back surgery. I returned to work on the 91st day and had to go through employee health services for drug testing. They asked me what medications I was on and I told them. They tested me and sent me home until the drug test results came back (5 days). I received no pay for this time period. When the results came back, they showed positive for the prescription medications I told them I was on. They allowed me to come back to work as long as I was under the care of their pain management doctor. the pain doctor wrote a letter on my behalf stating there was absolutely no reason why I shouldn't be able to perform my job. I went back to work but after a few hours, I was experiencing tremendous pain due to the type of chair I was sitting in. I asked my supervisor if I could get another chair (the hospital is full of ergonomic chairs for other employees). He told me no and got very angry. He told me not to mention the chair ever again. The next day he called me into his office and accused me of spreading rumors that I had filed a worker comp. claim regarding my back surgery. he was very angry. I denied it and he didn't believe me. 5 weeks later he told the health services dept. that I was acting funny and that he suspected I had been drinking. he knows I don't drink. they did a random drug test on me (urine and blood), made me leave the bathroom door open with a mirror on the door while I urinated and then humiliated me by taking my keys and walking me off of the job on administrative leave with no pay until the results come back. that was 15 days ago. I still have not heard from them. I filed a complaint with all of the proper H.R. people and vice president of the hospital. they haven't done anything about it. I have not officially been fired but I don't want to quit, however, i need to be able to pay my bills. so i have secured another job until I hear from the hospital. What should I do?

There are a couple of issues here. First of all, your employer is required to provide a reasonable accommodation for anyone who has a disability as defined by the Americans With Disability Act. I don't know if your condition could be considered a disability. However, if it is, I believe that getting you a better chair would qualify as a reasonable accommodation.

The other issue is the remarks and behavior of your supervisor. They may be seen as retaliatory. Was your leave covered by FMLA (Family Medical Leave Act)? If so, there are definite anti-retaliation features in place within the law.

Hi, similar case here but in MI. I had a car accident about 7.5 months ago. My back flares up when I work the desk shift (every other month), and I believe having an ergonomic chair would be beneficial in lowering the pain. However my employer is cheap and I don't think they will go for it. Do I have a right to have the company provide one?

No, not necessarily.

IF you have a condition that qualifies you for protection under the ADA and there is one or more reasonable accomodations that your employer can take that will allow you to perform the essential functions of your position, they are required to do so. But you don't get to pick what accomodation you get and neither does your doctor.

The key word is reasonable. What is reasonable is going to vary with the situation and the company. Evan assuming that such a chair would solve the problem (which has not been definitely established) providing an expensive ergonomic chair might be a reasonable accomodation if you work for the corporate headquarters of IBM or Microsoft, but not if you work for a small mom-and-pop operation or a start up company operating on a shoe-string. The fact that you are only on the desk shift every other month also might affect what's considered reasonable.