Applying for the third time for medical accommodation. Last two times it was just the same letter from my doctor that I uploaded. Now it’s a super specific form, that seems overly invasive to me… and I’m not thrilled about the doctor having to send it directly to Schwab. But of course they’ll make me RTO so I guess I’ll do it. Anyone gone through it yet?
15 replies (most recent on top)
I would like to see this new form so I can have my employment lawyer, and a HIPAA professional, take a gander. On another note, I have several questions.
(a) Is Schwab now using a third party to determine accomodation approvals/denials?
(a) How is Schwab "self-insured"? They utilize TPAs for their health coverage, so I am unsure what you folks mean when they make that statement.
(b) If you are an existing employee who has demonstrated that you can perform your work from home, they would be hard-pressed to deny a reasonable accommodation. If you have concerns, CYA with documentation. I have and will continue to.
Medical exemption is being highly abused. I've considered figuring out a way to exploit it myself but I suspected it would eventually be cracked down upon, so I've caved and returned to the office.
As a self-insurer Schwab absolutely takes employee medical costs into account when laying off. I have had high performing friends who personally experienced or had a family member experience a costly medical condition and they were let go. Saying they care about employees is nothing but lip-service.
RTO3 is flawed. If the job can be remote then let it be remote. There’s nothing magical about two days and we have people in different states. STS teams may be spread across six or more. Driving to be on Teams?
I enjoy working in the office. It’s a nice change of pace from home. However, I could definitely use some improvements. The traffic on 114 is a real pain, and parking is impossible. It would be great if I could telecommute on Mondays when I’m coming back from the weekend.
But the biggest item is feeling like a g-d kindergartener. Either trust or don’t. But trusting me 40% of the time.
Because some people are abusing medical exceptions by acting like they're mentally unwell and getting a letter with no reasoning for skipping the commute and/or work in the office or timeframes. If you're too sick to work in an office, are you able to work at all? You're requesting an exception to continue to be paid by Schwab so they need to know the details of that exception. I hope OP gets the exception without resistance. but I know from this forum that people are always asking how to finagle an exception because they resent Schwab RTO.
Also RTO can be very valuable but at Schwab its terrible. Company is too big and messy. One of the reasons they keep so many miserable people is because we could WFH. Some of you might really relieve your turmoil by finding a better fit where RTO would be a better prospect.
This is double standard why should I go into work and this guy gets to put in maybe 4 hours tops and be at home and get paid salary bonus and benefits. It's unfair to folks going in. Stop this.
Why should you go into an office? You shouldn't, unless your job requires presence as with branch reps and call center. Going into the office costs you time and money.
There's no double standard. This is about medical accommodation. And unproven claim of greater productivity is contradicted by research. Moreover, fewer commuter means quicker commutes for those still going in.
This is double standard why should I go into work and this guy gets to put in maybe 4 hours tops and be at home and get paid salary bonus and benefits. Its unfair to folks going in. Stop this.
Let’s just imagine it’s IBS. So now they know it’s a GI thing, and lifelong. Despite meds helping, it will never go away. Will they be like well, we don’t want the sh!tting their guts out in the office, so fine, RTO away. But what if it’s mental and the effects make it clear that depression or something g like that is at play? They could choose differently.
Key contributor by the way, so the “you’re lazy” folks can fu-k right off. O:-)
OP. Assume at this point you have been tagged for a layoff or constructive discharge. Schwab self-insures.
Document everything. Good luck.
@a5+1jhs4kp86
It’s a lifelong condition and I definitely qualify. What I worry about is disclosing the “system of the body” it affects and a bunch of other stuff. The name of the condition is not a requirement for accommodation, and my paperwork is all in order. I was diagnosed not long before COVID and have almost always had a partial or full remote team, so there is no need for me to be in office…
My main concern in addition to the detail is signing a year-long consent to release medical records. It is very broad as one poster mentioned… I don’t want them to get ANYTHING else from my doctor.
Did you work from home before Cov$d - did your medical condition exist then?
I haven't seen the form, but I'm curious if Schwab is putting themselves at risk by receiving HIPAA data without proper controls in place.
Schwab is beyond conservative. No one here can disagree to that. It’s their right to ask the question if it’s not breaking a law or regulation.
If you believe it’s invasive and don’t want to respond then seek employment where you can work from home. The RTO whine is exhausting.
They said. It’s invasive.
And it is.
The ideal scenario would be for the form to include an attestation from the doctor with a minimal amount of confidential information. The new form and the existing language would allow Schwab to receive all medical records, not just those related, and position themselves as a medical board.
Furthermore, this flaw is particularly evident considering Schwab’s self-insurance and the minimal barriers that exist between confidential medical information and determining the cost of coverage. Such information would clearly be used for constructive discharge and layoff purposes.
If you meet the requirements then what is the problem?