In April 2022, while working as a Juvenile Court Counselor Trainee for the North Carolina Department of Public Safety, Christian Worley requested a workplace accommodation for severe endometriosis. Her request was ignored, and she was later threatened with termination for raising the issue again. A supervisor admitted in writing that he denied the request because he would have to offer the same to “every woman in the office.”
After being unable to find legal representation due to skepticism about endometriosis qualifying as a disability under the ADA, she represented herself in a lawsuit alleging disability discrimination and failure to accommodate. Despite having no formal legal training at the time, she conducted depositions, drafted legal documents, and reviewed evidence herself.
Now a law student, Worley has successfully survived summary judgment. The court has recognized that endometriosis can qualify as a disability under federal law, and six of her seven claims are proceeding to trial after three years of litigation. Her case is helping push the legal system to take women’s pain seriously. This is the first time a federal judge in North Carolina has ruled that endometriosis can be an ADA disability, and the first time in the country where a plaintiff has been allowed to proceed.
Endometriosis is not just period pain. It's like a cancer.
Exactly. I’m waiting on a referral for a full hysterectomy due to it. I had to take a day off this week because I can’t physically function with the amount of blood loss i experience. I also have chronic anemia and insomnia from it.
But but but ... kids are more important than your comfort or safety. You have to have at least 2 kids first!! What if your husband wants kids? /s
Future hypothetical husband if you’re not married…
If you’re married to a woman, well you are for now. You never know! Some man in the future might want to marry you and what if he wants children!
Why does the woman have to handle everything? He can go get his own kids himself!
Legit I have a cousin whose doctor told her to have a baby to solve both her endo and depression issues.
She lives in a small town, so can't easily switch doctors :'(
Endo did not get resolved with pregnancy. This is a ridiculous response.
He apparently has a fuckton of bad reviews (I don't remember the website) but is basically the only GP in town so people are stuck with him.
When I lived in Ohio a social services guy, when I asked if there was any help I could get besides food stamps, told me if I got pregnant/had a kid I would qualify for everything 🤦🏻♀️
I wanted so much to downvote this because of how awful it is. I upvoted instead because I regrettably believe it.
I almost couldn't believe her when she told me, but her mom corroborated the story.
Where do these people come from D':
Your husband doesn't want kids? But what if he dies or divorces you and your next husband does?
What if your brother's, friend's, cousin needs a surrogate, and you're the ONLY women they know, of chid-baring age, who isn't already pregnant?!?
Amen. I have endometriosis and polycystic ovarian syndrome, and I swear, if I didn’t have an IUD that stopped my periods, I’d be over the rainbow bridge from the pain and blood loss. I’d have no period for MONTHS, then BOOM three periods in a month and a half.
Literal hell. I’m so happy you are getting your hysterectomy to resolve yours! ❤️ Hope all goes as planned!
My wife and I called her mid-cycle endo bleeding "commas." (They come between periods.)
Apt description.
Omg, I'm adopting this terminology.
Your comment made me look it again because I didn’t understand why a hysterectomy would address the issue cause I thought it was an ovary issue
👍
The worst day of cramps I ever had, I had pretty significant trouble concentrating on math class. The best day of cramps my bff had left her sobbing and vomiting in a dark room. Endo is NOT JUST PERIOD PAIN.
My son (FtM) used to get horrible cramps and periods. He's 29 and its gotten to the point where he won't have a cycle for months and then a 3 month one. He put it down to stress and life but finally went to a doctor who suspects he has PCOS and is being tested.
I really wish doctors would listen to those who have a uterus. WE know our bodies and what's normal and not, for our bodies
I am disabled from it myself. It was worse a couple years ago before excision surgery (only proven way to remove it, but it's never completely gone). It was so bad and messing with my nerves so much in my hip I had to use a cane for a few months. Other women have become physically disabled in worse form than myself. For everyone who's reading this, please watch "Below the Belt" on PBS while you can.
i’ve been having such bad hip pain lately, i’ve seen 5 doctors to try to get help with my period issues and the last one asked if ive tried taking advil
I can't remember which one, but either r/endo or r/endometriosis has a list of Endometriosis trained doctors and Excision surgeons. I would recommend looking to see if you can make an appointment with one. I was on the edge of suicide before my excision surgery...my treatment team and surgeon truly saved my life. Good luck to you, I hope you find proper care and relief.
“Have to offer to everyone woman in the office….” Clearly, this individual is unaware that every woman does not have endometriosis. And then it boggles my mind they could think a large number of the population can just be ok with constantly physically suffering.
Exactly. That’s exactly what I tell people, even freaking doctors.
Very exactly like a cancer. It can also kill you.
All the stories I’ve heard about it sound fucking awful
I recently saw a post in (IIRC) r/legaladvice
A woman was asking if she could sue(?) as she was dismissed time and again for the pain and complications of Endometriosis.
She was diagnosed at 16 and her gyno had to transfer her care to a specialist a fee years later
I recall her saying in October 2024 she was booked for an appointment for this August. She contacted them a few times and asked if she could see the specialist through the ER and then receptionist told her to "be patient"
More than a few trips to the ER and she was told it was "hormones' "just her period" etc, same shit we hear. She had to go to her Mother's country (she didn't say which one) for a family emergency. While there, she had to go to the hospital for severe pain and bleeding.
Long story short, at 21 she had to have a hysterectomy as the scarring was so bad, she also has to have operations on her kidney because it spread.
So at 21 she is quite literally, infertile. And has other issues now on top of that. Because no one would take her seriously.
She was brushed off and dismissed by doctors for years
It usually takes about 7 years to get diagnosed with endometriosis and that's usually starting from the time you're finally going to the gynecologist in your late teens. The fact that she was diagnosed at 16 and able to have a hysterectomy at 21 is surprising. In the past, no one would have even diagnosed her until her mid to late 20s even with all of that. I'm sorry for what happened to her, it's terrible but honestly, diagnosis at 16 suggests things are getting better than they were.
Actually the average is 10 years before diagnosis because they literally have to operate on you before it can be officially diagnosed.
It took over 15 years before I was diagnosed... and I literally had to research and hunt down a local surgeon who can perform the necessary excision. Obgyns typically just do ablation (burn it) which does F* all. Some women have to drive hours to get to one, I lucked out with one being an hour away.
I had heard 7, thanks for the update. Ablation is good for overgrowth from other causes that otherwise require D&Cs, but not for endo.
The only reason it didn’t take me 7 years is my entire matrilineal line has it and my mother was not going to let the doctors sweep it under the rug. Though up until a few years ago, doctors swore it wasn’t hereditary.
That's the thing. Just because it's not hereditary for everyone that has it doesn't mean it isn't for some people. No idea how they missed that. Holy airball.
Exactly. They now know it has a hereditary component, but I can’t tell you how many times I heard “It’s not hereditary” Really? Then why does every AFAB on my mom’s side have it?
You would think the first person would say "Well, they haven't found a hereditary link in the general population yet, but if all of your mom's family that has a uterus has been diagnosed with endo, there's clearly something going on. We should check you." This is so stupid of them that I can feel my IQ dropping just thinking about it.
I know right?
I had to explain some truly unbelievable things to healthcare providers when I was coworker and not a patient. The number of times that I said "I shouldn't know more than him (and sometimes her), goddamn it! I should never be the smartest one in the room!"
I had mine for 41 years. It wasn't dealt with until I had my ovaries removed bc of rock-hard, softball-sized ovarian cysts.
41 years of being told it wasn't pain, it was discomfort. & it wasn't an excessive amount of blood, surely it was a normal amount & clearly I was attention seeking.
Women's healthcare is shit.
Speaking as a litigator who's mostly done employment discrimination, this is extremely impressive. Like, unicorn impressive.
After this, assuming she does at least decently in LS, she'll have her choice of firms recruiting her. And she will deserve it
As a woman suffering from severe endometriosis IN North Carolina I am so overwhelmingly proud of this brilliant woman. Endometriosis is like a cancer. Not “bad cramps, pop an Advil”. I’ve had a partial hysterectomy and now waiting to get the ovaries out.
My sister lost her uterus, both ovaries, part of her bladder, and part of her intestines to endometriosis. It's no joke.
It wasn't until I had a cousin diagnosed with severe endometriosis that I learned how extensive it can be within the body. It had affected all of her reproductive organs/tissues, plus her bladder, large intestine, rectum, and even her diaphragm.
I’m missing five organs, I have daily pain, and I have depression and anxiety from endo nearly killing me in 2022. It affects every aspect of my life and on some days still makes it difficult to work. If that isn’t a disability I don’t know what is
Excellent! About damn time!
Oh, its nice that the ADA is still doing good things for Americans, right up until republicans get around to repealing it for being too "woke" and too much of a financial burden on their buisness interests.
Wow good for her. It is despicable the amount of work women have to put in to have their pain taken seriously.
I’m lucky to not suffer with endo, but I hear about it from friends and Reddit. I’m curious, is endo more common these days or is it just being diagnosed more? Are there any modern reasons so many seem to suffer with it?
Endometriosis progresses with every menstrual cycle (more specifically with ovulatory cycles). The disease actually improves with pregnancy. Fewer and later pregnancies lead to more and worse cases.
There are also some investigations into infectious components of the disease but that isn't medical canon yet.
Bleeding into the peritoneal cavity is the most excruciating pain I have ever felt - childbirth, tooth abscesses, passing kidney stones, none of it compared. Visceral pain hits the brain in a different place than, say, arthritis. Your survival instinct knows this is NOT OKAY and it’s not going to let you ignore it.
My husband didn’t quite understand just how much blood I was loosing during my periods, despite bleeding through everything for at least three-four days of every month and passing clots the size of small animals.
So I added up how much liquid each ultra, super plus, and super tampon adsorbs and how much each pad is supposed to hold.
I also began photographing my bloody clot babies. Usually with my hand near the toilet seat as a size reference or I’d drop a penny in the toilet.
It was actually insane how much blood I was loosing and he finally understood why I was exhausted and had anemia.
That a medical professional as the center for endo in Atlanta told him my endo was “extensive” and “terrible”.
You know, after reading through this entire thread, and your comment specifically, I’m beginning to think I should probably book a gyno appointment to talk about the possibility of endometriosis. Because I’m kind of ticking all of these boxes, but, you know, I’ve just been told for 49 years that it’s “normal” and, you know, just how it is to be a woman. So. Yeah. Time to be proactive and advocate for myself I think.
Christian Worley is you, right? Congratulations, and stop posting about your pending lawsuit on social media, and especially stop posting about it on reddit. Also, your previous reddit posts about the underlying events are probably responsive to some RPDs.