AIO about this text I got from HR?

[u/MeanderingDragon]

So to preface, I'm Type 1 diabetic, which means I have to take multiple daily insulin injections to live. I typically take 5-8 shots per day, and while it isn't fun, it is routine and necessary.

I was at work this morning and they had a small amount of food out for some sort of 'employee appreciation' which reminded me I hadn't had any insulin yet and my glucose levels were getting too high. I took a shot of insulin, got some breakfast, and went to my desk. A few minutes later, this text arrives.

I can understand that shots make some people uncomfortable. Trust me, I'm one of those people. But I have to take them anyway. Am I overreacting to think that if you don't want to see me talking a shot, you can turn your head? Should I have to go to the bathroom which only gets cleaned twice a week, and take my shots in secret like it's a drug addiction? Perhaps it is just me, but I feel that not everything in life that makes us a little uncomfortable is something that has to be pushed out of sight. Sometimes we would benefit more from understanding, acceptance, and perhaps acclimation.

Also for the record, while they say they "mentioned this several times", our HR manager scolded me once maybe two or three years ago publicly during lunch in our cafeteria. I ignored it that time, because friends sitting around me supported me after HR walked off.

[u/ClumsyRaccoonPants]

Thank you for this! I’m no lawyer but I was thinking this sounds like a discrimination case.

[u/ThePolemicist → u/ClumsyRaccoonPants]

They specifically said, " A bathroom is not an appropriate required location for injections • Employers should instead offer a clean private space if privacy is desired."

So, it sounds like the employer is asking them to use a clean, private space. They just need to make sure to provide that. I'm not sure it's a discrimination case unless OP requests accommodations, and they refuse to provide it.

[u/onerashtworash → u/ThePolemicist]

It's not just about the place of injection though, it's also that the reason HR gave was it was making other employees uncomfortable. The timing can't necessarily wait because it's about giving a necessary medicine which is time-dependent. The original comment in this chain covers it well:

Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, employees with diabetes must be allowed to manage their condition as needed during the workday. Telling someone to leave and find a “private area” assumes they can safely postpone treatment, which is a medical judgment HR is not qualified to make.

If blood sugar needs to be treated immediately, delaying even briefly could lead to dizziness or fainting. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission guidance on diabetes specifically recognizes that insulin administration may need to happen as needed, not when it’s convenient for others.

[u/ThePolemicist → u/onerashtworash]

I hear you that blood sugar can be urgent and may need to be treated immediately. However, the immediate life-threatening issue is typically low blood sugar when you need access to something like juice immediately. AFAIK, seconds don't typically count with elevated sugar levels. A person can excuse themselves to go to a designated, private area for injections.

I'm a little biased because my FIL has type II diabetes. If his system beeps at him for high sugar, he whips out a syringe wherever he is an injects himself, including at the dinner table. For some people, needles are extremely upsetting. It's kind of like walking into a hospital and seeing someone connected with tubes. My limbs go weak and start buzzing with numbness when I see needles and blood. Some people actually pass out from the sight of that stuff.

The person we're responding to had copied and pasted ADA recommendations about diabetes in the work place. It says that the ADA recommends companies offer a quiet, private area for injections. To me, it sounds like OP's company wants her to use a quiet, private area. The issue is that they haven't set aside space for it, and OP shouldn't have to use the bathroom for injections. So, it seems like the obvious solution is for OP to go to HR and ask them to provide that ADA-recommended accommodation and set aside a space somewhere, like an office, to meet those needs.

[u/onerashtworash → u/ThePolemicist]

No, there are two issues. One is access to a safe, clean place for injections. The other is timely access to treatment. Some treatments cannot be delayed without putting someone's life at risk. This is the case for OP, and this is why there are two issues.

OP has Type I diabetes, as stated in their post. This works very differently to Type II. You're correct that in Type II, the issue is low blood sugar which can be managed with things like juice, and is usually not a problem where seconds or minutes are essential, etc. In Type I, your body can't make enough insulin and you need to constantly supply it with insulin from an outside source (i.e., injections or a pump). Without this insulin, you will die. The issues in Type I are both high and low blood sugar and ensuring insulin levels don't drop rapidly. Standard management normally involves multiple insulin shots per day to prevent high blood sugar and to ensure your insulin stays at relatively steady levels. Missing a shot or even being late for a shot can cause a rapid insulin drop. This drop can cause diabetic ketoacidosis within the next day, which is a life-threatening emergency. As a result of using insulin therapy, they can also experience low blood sugar which has its own issues (and is managed similarly to low blood sugar in Type II, such as by drinking juice, etc.).

There is a genuine, material, time-based risk to OP in delaying them from administering a shot when needed, even if it's just a few minutes to get to a private room. So, going back to the ADA recommendations, OP is the best judge of when their medication is needed, not HR. If OP needs a shot, they need it then and there. Needles are an issue for some people and that does suck, but their issue is not life-threatening and does not supersede OP's right to and need for lifesaving treatment in a timely manner.

[u/[deleted] → u/ClumsyRaccoonPants]

It's not discrimination if the employee never actually asks for an accommodation.