I did this and not another fucking word.  Life got right.

ETA it took 2 1/2 months for VA to write the letter.  I threatened to call a Senator and it arrived.

All you're asking for is a closer parking spot, and they want to give you the run around?  

Fuck them.  I would get a lawyer to write a letter to them if nothing else for the entertainment value.  What a bunch of assholes.

Just talk to HR as a human being before you go all ADA on them.  And tell them that you wanted to talk to them as a reasonable employee to get assistance before invoking the ADA.   They'd likely snap to for you.

What bothers me is the fact that this place sounds like it's gotten "too big for it's britches" and is incapable of solving things on a person to person basis.  

If they're giving someone shit for parking in a handicapped spot with a handicapped tag, someone needs their head removed from their ass, surgically if need be.

OPs post just reminded my why I would rather stick my dick in a garbage disposal before I would go to work for another corporate machine again.

Park in the spot. FK them.

Don't give them the benefit of the doubt. Most of the time when people are doing this kind of thing to someone. They are doing it because they enjoy watching guys like you suffer. They live to cause as much pain and chaos for people as possible.

 

That'd be my first step, if they like to fuck with you the feds can fuck with them.  Hell ADA made all new stores lay down concrete bumps at entrances of stores so wheelchairs don't just roll out into the parking lot, for us non-handicap people its a pain in the ass to roll the carts over those.

If you follow the links that some posters have provided that you'll be parking closer to the entrance.

you should look up ADA laws they have to obey by those - they have no choice but to other wise they are in deep shit.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990

ADA Laws


don't let them push you around with this again look up these laws they are very clear and they should follow those

no way does he have to do this since his doctor has to provide proof for him to get this TAG.

just giving him a hard time

sorry OP that you have to go through this hopefully they come to there senses

This ^2

I'm pretty sure they are doing this because they are afraid of it being abused by employees. That said, it seems you've gone through enough hoops and should be able to park in the spot.

Right idea, wrong execution. Treat this as an ambush not a meeting engagement.

A boss of mine once described fighting these battles like this: "It's easier to drop a rock from above, than to push shit up a tree."

Taking it to the shitheel means you are basically asking him for permission. Fuck that. Take it 1-2 levels higher and he will be told to make it happen.

Dude you need to man the fuck up and tell them to kiss your ass.

Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile

Yes, you said it better than I did. Put him on the defensive and he will soon learn he has an untennable position on this thing.

This. If you have the card or even better the DP plates Park there and tell anyone who has a problem to FOAD. Tell them if they say 1 word about it again its ADA/lawyer time.



 

No offense, but what does your "military connected" injury have to do with your civilian job?

You're broke, you have a handicap tag, your boss won't let you park in a handicap spot.....I don't see any reason to mention the military.

I may be an asshole––-go figure.  It does remind me of this dude I saw in front of a McDonalds with a "We're Hiring" sign––-the guy had a cardboard sign saying in caps––VETERAN, WILL WORK FOR FOOD.  ETA––I wish I had a camera.

And tell them that you now need crutches because you must walk so far from your 'designated' parking spot.

Don't go. Write.

... after the slip and fall he took when walking 1/2 mile from the parking lot!

Take the above ada advice.  That company screwed the pooch big time.

You mean all the advice that is absolutely wrong?


Read my posts on the previous page.  Then do a google search using every search variation you can think of.

Negative.  Nowhere do ADA laws cover state issued handicap placards in EMPLOYEE parking lots.

Boy, I'll say. Can I assume you don't fall into one of the categories of "protected" employees, i.e. protected because of your age, sexual preference, or race?

"Reasonable accommodation" is determined on a case by case basis.

The same thing that is wrong with my company........it's run by middle managers who are more concerned with their own selfish, self-serving motivations than the needs of their departments..........these middle managers respond to the executives who are totally and enthusiastically oblivious to what happens at the level of actual production or service.

These managers, directors, VP's and such just masturbate each other and then congratulate themselves on what they perceive to be an excellent performance.

I call it "Corporate Constipation"......it's bad!........and it has been honed into a fine art by those dweebs I couldn't stand 40 years ago in High School and College.

Next question?

The handicapped parking spaces where I work are mostly used by people who are handicapped only because they are too fat.








 

Thank you everyone for the support

I had a call from a friend last night telling me to get my resume together for him
(called me not knowing about any of this and pretty much the first words out of his mouth).
So to the praying folks here, plaeas pray about that ans ir is a much better deal for me.


I've chewed on this and here is my plan of attack:

First of all a lil history:

My direct boss who is remote to me has been Very cool about this.
So I wrote His boss and told him a couple of weeks ago
(before all theis shit started) Telling His boss that while this has been
hard for me to deal with my boss has been great to me through it all.

Yesterday we had a client give my boss a ton of shit and he was telling
me about it late in the day yesterday in the end I said to my boss
"You have been the only one really cool to me about my back, Thank you"
He thank me for the e-mail I sent to his boss (first I knew he knew of it)

So it looks like I have an an "Friend" above me.


So the Plan:

Submit Dr's letter to site manager and hope
he uses his head and gets it take care of.

If Not

Write a polite e-mail to My boss, and CC His Boss, and HR on it.
Explaining how my boss has been very helpful and requesting that
they explain to the site manage the need I have to park closer.
As the pain I am dealing with is directly affecting my work
since it is a pit hard to concentrate while in such pain.


Then Pray my ass off for a new job

That's what HR is for.  Use them.

And believe me, you really do want them to hold it against you.  Retaliation against a disabled employee?  Hostile work environment?  ADA violation?  EEOC violation?  It'll be Mr_Harry's company after that.

In your letter to the site manager, be sure to use the words "reasonable accommodation" in your letter. Something like "Given the nature of my back pain and  the difficulty I have in walking longer distances, I believe parking in one of the nearby handicapped parking spaces would be a reasonable accommodation for my condition". The words "reasonable accommodation" is code for "I have looked into the ADA and know what the law requires you to do, so do not fuck with me".



Good luck.

I don't understand something. If you park in the ADA spot, with your placard, what are they going to do?

Call the cops? Whats he going to do? You have the placard, your in the designated spot.

Have you towed? Your manager would really do that?

I'm no lawyer, just a contractor. I've had to deal with ADA laws before. A. its a nightmare sometimes to navigate through them.B. Most, if not all, places take ADA violations VERY seriously. Like lawsuit seriously.

I'd rat this motherfucker out to higher ups. They should be able to realize that theres a huge lawsuit on the horizon and reel him in ASAP!

Here's what you do.





The site manager is on vacation which won't last long.  Come in early until he get's off vacation so you can park close and avoid pain.





Have your HC parking paper work and Dr.'s note ready for when he get's back.





Rememeber that when he get's back from vacation he will need a day or two to get all kind's of thing in order.





After that, meet with him and show him the paperwork.  Also remember that he may not know about the red tape you dealt with.  Don't even bother to tell him about all that, just present the evidence for your need.





It is possible everyone you have dealt with is just stupid, but it is also possible that they are acting this way because of the behavior of past stupid employees who act like children when it comes to parking.





Believe it or not, a lot of people see those empty parking spaces and they want at them even if they don't have a need.  Your company may have all this red tape because it just want's to make sure that the spaces are saved for people that actually need them.  After all, there all there are only so many spaces up front.  The type of people who want those spaces and don't need them keep a steady eye on those spaces and just can't wait to complain if someone else get's a space that they can't outwardly see needs them.





In a day and an age where doctors give out fake excuses to union
picketers who claim to be teachers, the company may be trying to take
extra care that the spaces are properly allocated.





During WWII, my uncle was turned away from joining the military because he was blind in one eye.  In WWII there was a draft that grabbed able bodied men down to 18 and progressed to increased age requirements as the war went on.  This should have been a clue, that if you weren't in the military and you were young, it might not be because you were a draft dodger.  That didn't stop people from calling him a yellow draft dodger.





It's a fair bet that the hidden need you have will be troublesome to deal with around people who don't actually know you.





Hope this helps.  I'm in sales, management, engineering, child day care for adult employees, so I spend a great deal of time learning the dark side of employee management and figuring out customers so I can sell them things.



If you do it the way I suggest, and the person with authority is decent, your efforts will be recognized and will put you in good standing.  It will also help you in the future with that fear you have of this being used against you.  Everyone will notice the way you handled it which will give you ammunition to use in the future in case some other idiot comes along not knowing about your pain.



I think most people are way off base telling you to lawyer up and call the press and all that stupid shit.  It sounds like you wanted to vent.  That's done.  Now bide your time, follow the plan, adjust as necessary depending on success.  





 

Tag for AAR.

So what is your point? Don't play the victim.

Be different don't sue just find another job.

I read the thread title and thought this was going to be about your abilities to do the job. Not the parking arrangements.

Are you trying to park in the custopmer lot instead of the employee lot?  Parking issues are something that should be addressed in your contract. As a known issue for you you should include that issue in your salary and benifits negotiations.

They can tow the car if its customer parking only.

yeah if thats the case, he might get a nice payday.



 

OP needs to shove the ADA up that local boss' ass. And needs to get right up the HR dept's to DO THEIR FUCKING JOBS.

This.  The time for staying within the lines is OVER.

This. You have the placard and that's all you need. Your employer has no say over who gets to park in the HC Spots. Every Parking Lot, Garage, etc. has to have them per the ADA. If your employer says you can't park there then make them notify you in writing. If they're stupid enough to do it then you will soon be enjoying a nice early retirement courtesy of your employer after you file an ADA suit against them. Most likely they'll back down though. ADA Suits are not something an employer wants. Especially from a disabled veteran.

You are good.

Like...picking you first to be on the team kinda good.





 

They might have hired you under the assumption that your disabilities would not affect your job duties.  Applying for a handicap spot because you can't walk from the normal employee parking area may be an indicator to them that there's additional issues that need to be dealt with.

After reading closer, it does sound like they're just giving you the runaround.

Brother I'm like you. Although I'm 80% service connected (IED & 2 suicide bombers) with no missing limbs, but a jacked up back, chronic headaches and some shrapnel, I tend to suck it up as well. But the minute I ask for help with a task because of it (which isn't very often), I get a heap load of shit... And I work for the VA. Good luck!

Any Updates?

Update:  So far so good, playing the waiting game,
because it has to now go through security.

On a good note: the manager who I expected to be a
problem was not (well at least he acted decent about it)

Maybe they figure it would be nice to cut me some slack.

So for now I'm just relieved, still not parking closer,
but at least I did not catch grief over it all.

First, thank you for your service.  It's too bad you have to put with this shit.


Secondly, why do you keep ignoring what people here are telling you over and over?

PARK IN THE GD HC SPACES!

Handicap spots are legislated and required.  They cannot deny you the ability to park there if you have a plackard, else every other business wouldn't have a handicap spot (but they all do).

The ADA is pretty darn clear about this, and you could easily file a suit if they try to deny you the ability to park there.

Agreed, your company is working their way to an HR nightmare/ Lawyers dream.

Total BS man

Thanks for serving, I hate you were injured in doing so

FINALLY!

It got approved, I called HR and they had me call the security office
directly. HR also questioned why this took so long and why when the
Mgr went on vacation he did have a secondary person to take care of it.

Thank you everyone for the encouragement.