Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Full time County employee in CA who wants to work part time. Would it be possible to request decrease in hours d/t stress which in turn is affecting ones ability to conceive and start a family. Have already requested part time but have been told there are no part time positions. Would a drs note force the county to decrease ones hours to part time if deemed necessary medically?
Asked on August 8, 2017 under Employment Labor Law, California
Answered 7 years ago | Contributor
No, a doctor's note does not force them to create new position for you or otherwise decrease your hours. An employer must make a "reasonable accommodation" for an employee due to a disability or medical need; a reasonable accommodation is one that is not too expensive or disruptive and that lets the employee do his or her *full* job. By definition, working shorter hours is not doing your full job, so it is not a reasonable accommodation--i.e. it is not legally required--to let you work fewer hours. (And creating a new job for is also, by definition, not doing your existing job, so that, too, is not required.)Furthermore, the courts do not recognize work-stress as being a condition requiring *any* accommodation, which makes sense if you think about it: most jobs are stressful, so if work stress required accommodation, every employer would have to accommodate almost every employee and employers would lose their control over their jobs and workplaces. Rather, the recourse for a too-stressful job is to seek a less stressful one elsewhere.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.
Find the right lawyer for your legal issue.
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption