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Pam, I was faced by a somewhat similar situation -- shortly after my diagnosis 5 years ago, I broke my foot, then a few days later, broke my hand -- the result of falling from trying to unwisely hop on my good foot. I couldn't work for about 2 months. At the time I had 2 part-time jobs - neither offered sick leave, disability coverage or any type of job security - part timers could be dismissed at any time. I lost one of the jobs (and was later rehired when I could return to work, only because they hadn't found a replacement yet).The second employer agreed to hold my job for me until I could return. Ironically the first employer (where I had worked for only a year) did not know about my PD, the second (emplyed there for about 6 years) did. Legal matters aside, alot I think depends on your employer and your relationship with them. But legally, these are very complicated issues you are dealing with -- the ADA, Social Secuity Disability regulations, in addition to your employer's policies. I agree with everyone else who wrote that you should consult a lawyer - one who is well-versed in disability and employment rights. If you happen to live near a law school, they might have a disability rights legal clinic or might be able to refer you to a lawyer . Here are some good web sites that may be helpful for background information : APDA Young Parkinson's Information and Referral Center: Online Articles on Disability: Applying for Disability-Fall/ Winter 1997 Employment: What Does The Americans With Disabilities Act Mean To You?-Summer 2000 Helpful Social Security Disability Resources-Summer/Fall 1998 http://members.aol.com/apdaypd/young/index.html JAN on the Web: Job Accommodations Network http://www.jan.wvu.edu/ Accommodating Parkinson's Disease for possible solutions and ideas for workplace problems of PWP: http://www.jan.wvu.edu/media/PD.html JAN also provides extensive links to web resources on the Americans with Disabilities Act http://janweb.icdi.wvu.edu:80/links/adalinks.htm Parkinsn (PIEN Website) Current Topics: What Parkinsonians Should Know About Social Security Disability http://www.parkinsons-information-exchange-network-online.com/archive/011 .html and Disability Evaluation under Social Security http://www.parkinsons-information-exchange-network-online.com/archive/012 .html Parkinson's Disease and Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) - Greg Sterling's web site http://pd_ssdi.homestead.com/ssdi.html Hope it will all work out well for you, Linda Herman ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn