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[News] Canadian man alleges sleep apnea triggered discrimination at IBM
#1
Canadian man alleges sleep apnea triggered discrimination at IBM
Enfield man alleges his sleep apnea triggered discrimination from IBM

By Julia Wong

HALIFAX – An Enfield man claims IBM discriminated against him because of his physical disability.

Roger Lefrense, 56, had been working for IBM as an IT technician since 1996.

He testified before a Human Rights Commission inquiry Monday.

Lefrense said that he woke up with dizziness and headaches in September 2003. A family doctor referred him to a neurologist who believed Lefrense had sleep apnea but further study was needed.

Sleep apnea is a condition where there are pauses while breathing, which can disrupt sleep.

Lefrense’s job required him to sometimes work overtime, weekends or on-call.

He testified he had concerns about the additional hours of work because he was not sleeping.

He was particularly worried about the impact his sleep apnea might have on driving long-distances since he often had to respond to calls from Yarmouth to Truro.

Lefrense approached his supervisor in May 2004 that he was not sleeping well and was not in a condition to work on-call.

However, he said his supervisor told him that being on-call was part of the position and if he could not perform his duties, he may have to look for work somewhere else.

He testified his supervisor told him he would find a replacement for that shift but not to expect that to become the norm.

Lefrense said he was under the impression that he was being brushed aside even though he was advising his supervisor of a hazard to his health.

He provided the supervisor with a medical note, was put on sick leave in June 2004 and was estimated to return to work July 2004.

However, Lefrense injured his lower back prior to that date and required surgery. He was off work for a couple months.

In April 2005, a doctor gave him the green light to return to work however a treatment option for his sleep apnea called Continuous Positive Airway Pressure, CPAP, did not prove successful.

Oral surgery for his sleep apnea was considered but he was ultimately referred to a sleep clinic, which had at least a one-and-a-half year waiting list.

It was during this time that a doctor recommended Lefrense not work overtime or a night shift so his sleep apnea would not be aggravated and specialists could find a way to manage his condition.

Lefrense had worries he might be a safety risk if he had to drive, and he reached out to his supervisor but said his request for accommodation was rejected.

He said that he was never told the reason why.

In emails read aloud during the inquiry, a supervisor wrote to Lefrense that “The job is a job. We’re unable to customize the job to your medical condition”.

Lefrense was then offered another job, a senior parts analyst position, which he started in June 2006. The new position was Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and there was limited overtime and he would not be on-call.

However he took a significant pay cut.

He testified that no other positions were discussed with him but he believes there were other jobs with higher pay that he was qualified for.

“The question becomes whether the new skills, the new position he was placed in, whether the pay range was appropriate or whether there were other positions he could have landed in to accommodate his new disabled status,” said Lisa Teryl, legal counsel for the Human Rights Commission.

Teryl said many employers often grapple with how to accommodate for their employees.

“This board of inquiry has been struck to establish where the duty to accommodate line should be draw. At some point, the employer doesn’t have to accommodate the employee if it reaches the point of undue hardship,” Teryl said.

Lefrense is asking for past and future wage losses as well as future losses to his pension because he is now at a lower pay rate.

IBM declined to comment.

Cross examination is expected to take place Tuesday.

Fair Use from:
http://globalnews.ca/news/1126143/enfiel...-from-ibm/

The above post may contain copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. The material available is intended to advance the understanding of Sleep Apnea treatment and to advance the educational level of Sleep Apnea patients with regard to their health. Sometimes included is the full text of articles and documents rather than a simple link because outside links frequently "go bad" or change over time. This constitutes a "fair use" of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material in this post is distributed without fee or payment of any kind for research and educational purposes. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this post for purposes of your own that go beyond "fair use", you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.
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#2
RE: Canadian man alleges sleep apnea triggered discrimination at IBM


Well I do feel sorry for the guy but when you get crook or injured you really need to suck it up and adapt.
IBM didn't cause this fella's problem and they did give him a job, if he wasn't happy then he should have moved on and got a job that suited the qualifications he claimed to have.
Maybe IBM should have sued him for mucking them around.
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#3
RE: Canadian man alleges sleep apnea triggered discrimination at IBM
(02-04-2014, 02:11 PM)ApneaNews Wrote: In April 2005, a doctor gave him the green light to return to work however a treatment option for his sleep apnea called Continuous Positive Airway Pressure, CPAP, did not prove successful.
CPAP is a treatment .... not a miracle worker
In order to reap the benefits ... he should have learned how to use it the right way including finding the right mask which is quite important for successful treatment. Failure is not an excuse ... you reap what you sow




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#4
RE: Canadian man alleges sleep apnea triggered discrimination at IBM
(02-04-2014, 05:42 PM)zonk Wrote: CPAP is a treatment .... not a miracle worker. In order to reap the benefits he should have learned how to use it the right way including finding the right mask which is quite important for successful treatment. Failure is not an excuse. You reap what you sow

+1

I note this: "a treatment option for his sleep apnea called Continuous Positive Airway Pressure, CPAP, did not prove successful." What the heck does that mean? Was his sleep apnea of a type that cannot be treated successfully by CPAP, or was he just not compliant? If he was not compliant, did he have a good reason that could not be overcome (phobia, etc.)? It sounds as though he just refused to give it a good effort.

This disability thing is a two-way street. The employer has to do what they reasonably can, but the employee has to pitch in too.
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#5
RE: Canadian man alleges sleep apnea triggered discrimination at IBM
well, I can say that the article should have done a better job explaining things. We all know that a lot of sleep doctors, doctors and definitely a lot of the DME's are of little or no help. I went 2 years with no help and then I found this forum.
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#6
RE: Canadian man alleges sleep apnea triggered discrimination at IBM
And reasonable accomondations here in the states does have limits. They don't have to give you a job that pays the same. They are to try and adapt the job to fit your needs if feasible financially. In his case, perhaps talked to the other folks in the same position and asked if they would mind working the outside normal hours jobs. Maybe one guy could have done more in exchange for doing less during the day. Probably not possible. It would depend on if they would have had to pay the other guy more money and maybe this guy less to make up for it.

If that's not working, then they can perhaps find you a job elsewhere within the company but there is no guarantee it will be the same pay scale. That's just not possible in the real world. With a big company like IBM, there's probably a huge line of folks drooling to get hired there. Positions don't stay open for long. We've got a company here that makes CDs. It's been like the holy grail of solid jobs that folks try to reach for. Good pay, good insurance, and as long as you don't screw up, it's a guaranteed life-long job.
PaulaO

Take a deep breath and count to zen.




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