I received this story in my Google News Feed this morning:
T1D Paramedic receives big award
Of course, this is a news story and there are perhaps more questions than answers here.
1 Like
This is an awesome victory for T1’s in the emergency medical field. I cannot tell you how many nurses I’ve met that are T1’s and they do a great job!
I used to work in HR and the article states the employer said the employee should have requested an accommodation and I believe she should have after she was hired. From an HR stand point, no employer needs to know about diabetes in a prospective employee until they actually become a hired employee.
An accommodation can be, for example, more small breaks throughout the day to test BGs, correct a low with juice/pepsi, or eat smaller meals throughout the day. Since the employee didn’t request an accommodation/s after she was hired than it does make her look uninformed and uneducated about her disability in the workplace but the law still stands that the employer violated the employee’s civil rights by firing her for her disability. She can still do the job without question even with her disability. If the disability keeps her from performing her job then her employability comes into question. The article mentioned that the employer also knew that she was a diabetic when they hired her. If they knew she was diabetic, the employer should have known what legally is acceptable for an employee with any disability. There are a number of other variables in this specific case that also make the employer look irresponsible.
It is so important for T1’s that work in any workplace to know and understand their rights with diabetes as a disability. Know your rights!
Thank you for posting this 
Busybee