So freakin' fed up!

[James_Allen]

I'm a 21 dealer in Las Vegas, NV-a really GOOD one, if I say so, myself. When I first got into dealing, about 12 years ago, I was on the fast-track: Within a few months, I was Tournament Director, I taught the free Blackjack lessons and was what we call a "Dual-Rate"-That is, I dealt some days and other days I wore a suit and supervised part of the pit. The casino I worked for, The Lady Luck, was very cool about my seizures. They were concerned with my well-being and always took care of me if I had one while on the floor. When the new company took over, Isle of Capri-some yahoos from Mississippi who decided to buy a casino in Vegas but had no idea of how to run it effectively took over, I suddenly found myself being written up for everything imaginable. When I said "Damn" in a conversation with a player at the table (as I and everyone else had always done (it IS a casino, after all) I was fired for "being rude to a guest". I tried a few other casinos after that, but couldn't keep the job for very long. My girlfriend and I finally decided that the best thing to do would be for me to file for Disability and wait for it as a stay-at-home-dad while she went to work.

Long story short, she wound up leaving me for another guy and taking my kids to live with him 3,000 miles away. I've seen my kids once in the five years since. I got into call center customer service to try to take care of myself. I HATE it!!! I'd rather jam a red-hot fork up my rear than go to work most days, but I went. I still had issues with the seizures. One employer basically called me a liar when I told them that the reason I took two breaks right on top of each other was that I had had a seizure and had become confused.

I've since tried to get back into the casino industry, and was have a terrific time! Only now, I've had four seizures at work in the past month and they've given me a month to get it straightened out.

How the hell am I supposed to get it worked out in a month when I haven't been able to do the same thing in 12 years? How am I supposed to work with a neurologist with no insurance and no money with which to pay him? (My neurologist charges $150.00 per visit) How am I supposed to get the resective surgery to stop the seizures inside of a month and without the $30,000? How am I supposed to pay my rent and my bills in the meantime?

I'm so freakin' SICK of these seizures! It used to be funny-I used to joke that eventually, when I bite part of my tongue off, I was going to fry it up, put together an A-1 commercial and post it on Youtube. I've gotten on the bus and woken up in strange places and that was usually just a "fun" story. I've got kids! I've got a wife! I want to take care of them! I WANT MY FRIGGING LIFE BACK!

 

[Endless]

James,

I'm so sorry you've gone through all this. It stinks. Lots of us in here have been subject to job descrimination. They never say it is for epilepsy or seizures. They find other reasons and then just get rid of us. They either do it intentionally, or unintentionally because they can't tell the difference between seizures and their effects and performance issues, or they say that our needed accomodations are unreasonable (when other companies manage to do it!).

How long have you been with your new employer? If it's been over a year they are required by the federal Family and Medical Leave Act to give you 3 months of paid or unpaid medical leave, with your job protected, and your medical insurance continued.
http://www.dol.gov/dol/topic/benefits-leave/fmla.htm

The Americans with Disabilities Act requires employers who have over 50 people working at the site to provide reasonable accomodations for people with disabilities. The gray area is what is considered reasonable.
http://www.epilepsyfoundation.org/advocacy/civilrights/adaoverview.cfm
http://www.eeoc.gov/facts/epilepsy.html
http://www.ada.gov/

If you have a list of accomodations and they say they can't accomodate it (and you think they can), or they fire you for your disability, you can appeal to the Equal rights Commission.
http://www.eeoc.gov/laws/types/disability.cfm

One more resource is the Epilepsy Foundation. They have a referral service to lawyers who are willing to work for free.
http://www.epilepsyfoundation.org/epilepsylegal/legalinfoctr.cfm

Good luck. Please keep us updated.

 

[Birdbomb]

Endless has excellent information. :agree:

1. Epilepsy IS a disability
2. You have a disability
3. You cannot be discriminated because of the disability (hiring-firing)
4. They must accommodate your disability
5. You do NOT have to disclose your disability
:soap:
I was hired to work the food court at the BX on base at Nellis. I was trained to work every position possible but if I felt it wasn't a safe position, I was accommodated.
I chose to disclose my epilepsy to the supervisors and I also took the time to educate them by making pamphlets about my epilepsy and how to deal with it ie: What to do, when it was bad, and what NEVER to do, and when to call 911.
:brain:

FYI Vegas has the highest unemployment rate in the U.S.. Much higher than the national figures. My husband worked for Lady Luck years ago, they had a dirty habit of letting people go on the 89th day of their 90 probationary period. The b**t**ds!

P.S. Welcome!

 

[James_Allen]

Thank you.

Endless, thank you so much for the information! I will follow up on those links immediately

Birdbomb, Thank you for your kind words and the rationale. Not to be argumentative, but I am a bit worried that they have a very good case here. I am still within my 6-month probationary period. That, by itself, is scary. As I understand it, during the first six months, they can basically let me go for anything they want to-whether it's because I don't deal fast enough or even if my voice is too low. I genuinely think that they really do like me and want to keep me on-board because, even though I've been out of it for ten years, I still deal better and faster than 90% of the rest of the pit employees. However, their points are valid: It is a commotion when I have a seizure on the table, and it is disruptive to their business. When they have to send me home from work and they have to close a table, they are losing revenue. I'm not sure if ADA protects my disability to the point where I have a right to expect them to be O.K. with that. I absolutely see what you're saying and I absolutely appreciate it. I also absolutely hope that you're correct. Right now, however, I am losing money, myself. I haven't worked for five days, now. I don't know where I'm going to get the money to pay my bills just due to those missing hours. Also, now it's beginning to really affect my marriage. I'm bummed out over this and my wife is threatening to leave me because she "can't handle me being depressed all the time"... I'm in a world of hurt, here. Thank you, again, for the info and the advice. I'll keep you all posted.

 

[Birdbomb]

Get your butt down to the Welfare office Tuesday morning EARLYand apply for aid. You may be eligible for food stamps, rent subsidy, cash and Medicaid. Contact Catholic Charities for help with rent and utilities. There are a few other places to go but at the moment my head is empty. If you need food, there is a program for that but I have to do some calling around to get the location.

 

[Birdbomb]

My husband just said The Stations Casinos are looking for 1000 new people for 17 locations. (I personally can't stand the Stations)