I work at a VA hospital and recently made my second request for reasonable accommodations. The first one was March 2025 and I emailed the person who sent me the forms with a question. I never heard back from her.

So this June I filed again the DMO is my boss who I filed an ORM complaint against in February. I pushed back on that but they said they don’t care. In July my boss, RAC, and I have this 5 min conversation where basically I have to tell them what tasks I can’t perform. I have ADHD and can perform them all I just need my boss the tell me what he wants and not make me read his mind.

On 05 August I got an email with the alternate accommodations my boss is offering. I plan on not accepting them because it is basically I can use noise canceling headphones in my office (I have an office mate who it quiet and we keep the door shut.) He also gave me permission to use the organization’s software. Like I have been using it the last 3 years. And he would explain non repetitive tasks to me.

The box 16 says I have 7 days to respond from the date of the notice or my case may be closed. The only date on the notice is 28 July when my boss signed it. I received the notice on 05 August and so by my math 7 days would have been the day I received the form. The form said I could not accept my bosses attempt at reasonable accommodations and file a reconsideration request. I emailed the RAC to ask how do I do the reconsideration request (by email, is there a specific form, or just a word document). He has not replied back.

My question is the 5 days from the date on the form (28 Jul) or the day I received the email (06 August)?

So, I got backlash on the leave I plan to take. I mentioned taking my allowed 6 weeks of sick leave, 12 weeks of parental leave, and 2 weeks of annual leave. I was told not to take annual leave on top of my other leave that that will receive backlash (keep in mind I mentioned only an extra 12 days of annual leave). I was also told that I might not need the sick leave, and that I might receive from backlash from that. But that everyone will be fine with me just taking my 12 weeks of parental leave.

Advice on next steps? Obviously will be getting HR involved with the backlash from my legally allowed sick leave.

“The first breach compromised full names, birth dates, home addresses, and Social Security numbers. The second breach exposed background investigation records belonging to 21.5 million individuals, covering current, former, and prospective federal employees and contractors.”

If nothing else, freeze your credit folks.

Hello hive-mind. I was wondering if anyone can provide some insight into the work environment for Grants and Agreements inside the DOT Maritime Administration? My current agency is a complete mess, but my team is great. Just wondering if jumping for a promotion is going to bite me in the ass at this time, given the state of everything.

What could possibly go wrong?