My employer wants me to work from the office against my doctor's orders

Question

I work from home in California now due to my medical issues. My doctor wanted me to be off all together but I can't afford it and he agreed to have me work from home. My company is continuously bullying me into coming back to work in the office or going back on disability. My productivity has not declined due to my working from home.

What irritates me is dishonest way they are dealing with me. When I asked my boss about the HR letter he said he will take care of it and that my work is not suffering from my working from home. Then I got another email from HR where they are stating that the requirement for me to work in the office comes from my boss.

How best can I address this with my employer?

Answer 1

Short answer: Gather all your evidence for why you need to work at home and that it does not reduce your productivity and consider offering a compromise.

At this point you need to make a case to your boss and to HR as to why they should allow you to continue to work from home. Evidence should include:

• A certificate from your doctor stating that in his professional opinion, you should be working from home rather than in an office
• Any written evidence of your employer saying that it was okay for you to work at home
• Any written evidence that your boss said that your productivity was not reduced from working at home.

To try to improve your chances, you could offer to work sometimes in the office and sometimes at home (say three days at home, two days in the office), and be available for meetings as required. It doesn't have to be a cut and dried "working from home" or "working in the office."

Sometimes offering an alternate option that is somewhere in the middle can help to break any deadlock.

However, be prepared to talk to a lawyer if necessary, which is why it's important to gather as much documentary evidence as you can.