desiderata310
VIP Member
It's been a rough week. I'm not sleeping as well and I'm exhausted and I'm in a really shitty head space.
At the end of the day today I got an unexpected victory.
About a month ago, I went to the EEOC for the university I work for to talk to them about bringing in Charlie as the accommodation for my PTSD. I've never done this before. I've never asked for accommodation. I've never admitted that I NEEDED help so this was a huge step for me.
I got shot down by the EEOC being told that they only have to accept seeing eye dogs. I knew this wasn't the case but it was upsetting none-the-less. The woman was rude. The whole thing shook me to my core and left me feeling quite impotent.
She said she would check with legal and get back with me.
Today, she wrote me back. Below is her email to me.
Desiderata,
I wanted to get back to you regarding the question your brought to me last month about your service dog. I finally had the opportunity to consult with our campus counsel on this issue, and present her with some of the facts you shared with me.
Based on that information, we both felt that having your dog at work with you might indeed be considered an appropriate accommodation. You would need to provide a note from your doctor, as we discussed, explaining the need for your service animal and what task the dog has been trained to perform. Then you would have an interactive discussion with your department managers about your accommodations. I would be happy to participate in the discussion, if you or the department feels it would be helpful. <name removed> in HR is also someone who is often involved in these discussions.
Please let me know if you have any questions about this or wish to discuss further.
Best regards,
I needed this win. It's a small victory. I still have to deal with HR. I still have to get to a place with Charlie's training where I feel COMFORTABLE bringing him in to be with me. But the door has been unlocked. yeah. ok. I'm crying. Not entirely sure why but I'm crying.
I think it's a good thing.
At the end of the day today I got an unexpected victory.
About a month ago, I went to the EEOC for the university I work for to talk to them about bringing in Charlie as the accommodation for my PTSD. I've never done this before. I've never asked for accommodation. I've never admitted that I NEEDED help so this was a huge step for me.
I got shot down by the EEOC being told that they only have to accept seeing eye dogs. I knew this wasn't the case but it was upsetting none-the-less. The woman was rude. The whole thing shook me to my core and left me feeling quite impotent.
She said she would check with legal and get back with me.
Today, she wrote me back. Below is her email to me.
Desiderata,
I wanted to get back to you regarding the question your brought to me last month about your service dog. I finally had the opportunity to consult with our campus counsel on this issue, and present her with some of the facts you shared with me.
Based on that information, we both felt that having your dog at work with you might indeed be considered an appropriate accommodation. You would need to provide a note from your doctor, as we discussed, explaining the need for your service animal and what task the dog has been trained to perform. Then you would have an interactive discussion with your department managers about your accommodations. I would be happy to participate in the discussion, if you or the department feels it would be helpful. <name removed> in HR is also someone who is often involved in these discussions.
Please let me know if you have any questions about this or wish to discuss further.
Best regards,
I needed this win. It's a small victory. I still have to deal with HR. I still have to get to a place with Charlie's training where I feel COMFORTABLE bringing him in to be with me. But the door has been unlocked. yeah. ok. I'm crying. Not entirely sure why but I'm crying.
I think it's a good thing.
