does an employer have the right to fire you if you have sleep apnea which causes you to occasionally doze off?

Answer 1

If you're caught sleeping on the job they have the right to fire you.

If it's a medical condition you should have provided them with a note from your Dr when they employed you so they knew what was going on with you.

Answer 2

Yes. They have the right to fire you. IF you're sleeping on the job. An employer can't discriminate and fire you for HAVING sleep apnea. If this is something you have, it's your responsiblity to seek assistance from your physician. There are mechanisms out there to help with sleep apnea and will reduce your symptoms greatly....as well as resolve most of your daytime sleepiness.

CPAP and BIPAP's are used for sleep apnea and if used right and consistently, it will truly help.

Best wishes.

Answer 3

Sleep apnea is likely to be covered under the disabilities act of your area.

However, this would require that you have been diagnosed and are under treatment.

A medical condition is not an exemption from doing work though. You may not be able to work and might want to consider a disability pension. Most jurisdictions require that the employer provide some accommodations based on the person's health issue. This usually is where you provide a medical note stating your condition and the accommodations that are required.

If you feel that your employer has terminated you against the disabilities act of your region, you may want to consider filing a complaint. Complaints are often very long in the process and usually don't amount to much for the employee.

Answer 4

I do sleep studies and yes sleep apnea will cause you to fall asleep during the day. The quality of sleep during the night is so poor that hardly feels like you slept at all. Since you know you have sleep apnea do you have CPAP? Are you using it?. If you are and you are still tired please tell your doctor. They may have to change the amount of pressure on your machine. Using the CPAP with it set at the right pressure should make you feel better and make your boss happy.

Answer 5

Actually most employers are "at will" employers.... meaning that they can fire you whenever they want and you can quit whenever you want. So, yes, they can fire you whether you say it is caused by a medical condition or not, unless you have some kind-of contract with the company that specifies how long you are to work at this facility.

With that said, if you are fired and you feel that you are being discriminated against then you can file a complaint, but as far as that goes, probably not much is going to come of the matter.

Answer 6

A employer can fire you at any given time, the same is allowed if you want to quit unless there was some form of contract, or other labor law issues.

Answer 7

Sleep apnea doesn't cause you to doze off, but narcolepcy would. I believe it would be possible to be fired if a health condition prevents you from doing your job.

Answer 8

This sounds like narcolepsy. It may depend on your job. If you endanger yourself or others (operating heavy machinery) by falling asleep they are correct to fire you. If not you may be able to identify this as a disability.

Keep in mind that it is not your employers responsibility to make sure you get 8 hrs of sleep a night. It is yours.

Answer 9

yes. sleep apnea simply means that you stop breathing while sleeping. it doesn't cause you to fall asleep on the job since it occurs only when you are asleep.

Answer 10

You might be covered under the Americans with disability act.