XL post. Sorry in advance for the mobile formatting.
Can my workplace force me to come back into the office before I’ve healed?
I fell down the stairs at work and broke my right kneecap on May 15. As a result, I have to wear a long leg brace (from ankle to upper thigh) that is locked in a straight position for 8+ weeks. I also have to use crutches to get around. My ortho specialist said I cannot drive with the brace on (for obvious reasons) and to keep from being a surgical case, I need to rest, keep my leg elevated, keep weight off of it as much as possible and try to bend my knee only a few times before bed to keep the muscles from atrophying too much.
No one is happy about this, myself included, but I’m following doctor’s orders. I’m lucky my injuries were not worse.
I’m supposed to be able to drive and move around more the first full week of July. Until then, I’m on seated duty only. I’ve been working from home since I’m lucky enough to do work that is remote friendly. I’ve been very communicative with my company about my progress whenever they ask and told them what my doctors orders are (notes included).
My counterpart at work is going on vacation for two weeks starting next week and HR just called to pressure me into coming back on Tuesday. I want my coworker to enjoy her time off and not worry about anything so we came up with a plan to handle the very few things that must be done in office (handling physical materials). Due to the nature of these tasks, I cannot physically perform them even if I did go into the office. My desk is also not able to accommodate my leg brace. I raised these concerns and explained my plan for covering the tasks to HR.
She basically said they weren’t trying to pressure me and that they would make every attempt to keep me as comfortable as possible and get someone to help me with the tasks. I very politely said that all her suggestions would use far more of the company’s resources than the solution my counterpart and I have implemented (which is 1000% true).
They are willing to hire a car to take me to and from the office daily, shorten my hours a little and have someone else perform the tasks that I cannot perform. At this point I asked her why my presence is necessary. She ignored the question, told me to think of a schedule I would be comfortable working in office and said she would call me tomorrow to discuss.
They are basically strong arming me into coming back early and I am not comfortable with this at all. Can I refuse to come back? My doctors note doesn’t say I can’t be in the office, just that I cannot drive and that I can only perform seated duty. I just don’t see the point in exhausting myself hobbling to and from the office each day while recovering from a serious injury when I will be a drain on office time and resources. Not to mention the added risk of re-injury and/or exacerbating my current injury. Do I have any options?