She asked to bring oxygen to work -- they fired her instead

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) — A woman who was fired after asking to bring an oxygen tank to work to help her breathe will get $25,000 in a federal settlement.

TriMark Foodcraft also agreed to train its staff on what qualifies as a reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act as part of a two-year consent decree, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said.

Jean S. Perry worked as an accounting clerk for a Trimark distribution facility in Winston-Salem through a temporary placement agency, the EEOC's lawsuit said. In December 2018, she was admitted to a hospital for breathing problems related to a disability. When she tried to return to work and asked to bring a personal oxygen device with her, she was fired.

The Delaware-based manufacturer of commercial kitchen equipment settled the EEOC's suit on Friday, the federal agency announced.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/she-asked-to-bring-oxygen-to-work-they-fired-her-instead/ar-AAQ0Tsz

[Froggyproggy]

1. They deserve more.

They deserve every penny, probably more.

[marble falls]

14. Plenty more, am I right?

[LiberalFighter]

2. They need to fire the HR person(s).

[SheltieLover]

3. Absolutely!

[nykym]

4. naaah

just cut their oxygen supply in half and see how they like it.

[PXR-5]

5. Good 'ole NC

As someone who came to NC from NY/NJ I am appalled at this states employment laws!

Employers will try anything here. At my last job as an in-house electronics technician I was not allowed to wear a mask because masks have political undertones.

That woman deserves more than a years salary, and if is deemed unavailable to work without O2 then she should get workers compensation and/or disability.

[SheltieLover]

6. "Plantation mentality"

Is how coworkers explained this sort of thing to me when I moved to NC.

[lagomorph777]

11. Likely you had to deal with COVID risk, AND solder fumes?

That is a seriously fucked-up employer. I'm pretty sure that's an OSHA violation, AND an ADA violation.

[Wingus Dingus]

7. I wonder if the work environment couldn't accommodate an oxygen source for

fire safety reasons? But if so, something else should have been arranged for her.

[ret5hd]

8. I wonder why she "asked". I'm glad she did...

if only to show what idiots they are, but if it had been me, I would have strolled in tank-in-tow. I wouldn’t have asked anybody.

“Excuse me, may I bring my leg cast in to work, or do I need to leave it at home?”

“Excuse me, may I wear my glasses in to work today?”

“Excuse me, is it OK if I leave my insulin pump attached this week?”

[Wingus Dingus]

9. It's kind of weird for them to just say, "No, no oxygen" like that would

ever be an adequate response. Because obviously she's not using a tank and an uncomfortable nasal cannula for fun. She probably likes OXYGENATING HER ORGANS lol.

[lagomorph777]

12. Nope. Personal oxygen devices don't increase the oxygen around them.

They pull it from the air and feed it into a little cannula. Net zero change in fire hazard.

And I don't think an accountant would be sitting in a highly flammable environment anyway!

[ProfessorGAC]

13. Highly Unlikely

First, it's a kitchen equipment company, not a refinery.
Second, she's an office worker, seldom to never out in the manufacturing area.
Third, the volume of oxygen created by a concentrator is quite small. As in enough for one person.
It would take a ridiculous amount of time for it to build oxygen content in air, in an entire office, sufficient to meaningfully raise combustion rate.
Fourth, people can take concentrators on a plane! If there is no concern over increases fire potential on a plane full of people, an office is a non-issue.
If they claim it's about safety, they're lying.
This was just a boneheaded decision.

[onethatcares]

10. and these are the ones we hear of

how many other people don't even get the opportunity to file a complaint just browbeat into quitting.

But they'll be a praying on Sunday morning louder than you can imagine.

[TexasTowelie]

15. I wish that the article would have described the words "oxygen tank" better.

Since I resided in the chemistry lab as a college student and my brother is a respiratory therapist, I can think of three cases:

1) An actual oxygen cylinder tank that would usually be found in a lab. Those do pose a fire hazard and I wouldn't consider them to be for personal use.

2) A stationary oxygen concentrator. They weigh about 35 pounds, but can be considered for personal use. While there might be a minor risk of fire hazard. The primary issue that I see with them are that they are noisy and could disturb her colleagues. A situation could also develop if she leaves the stationary concentrator at work and it is stolen. Who is responsible to replace the device in that situation--the woman, the company, the cleaning crew, any other stranger in the office? Depending on what the office environment is like it could also be too cramp and they also need be plugged into a charger for electricity which the company would pay for (although I wouldn't consider that to be an unreasonable accommodation). My brother is supposed to hang "no smoking" signs when he sets up a patient with a stationary oxygen concentrator so they should certainly considered to be fire hazards.

3) A portable oxygen concentrator. (POC). Light weight devices under five pounds that can be transported similar to a purse. The most irritating thing about them is the beeping noise when there is a malfunction. The battery life for most POCs is not adequate for a routine eight-hour work day so they will either have to be recharged at work or additional batteries will be needed.

Off topic, but what's disturbing though is the number of COVID patients who insist on receiving a POC even though they should be staying at home instead of spreading COVID.