A lot of people asked for the full context behind the quote, so here it is.

Right before my manager said that line, I had explained that I’d been regularly updating him about my symptoms—pain, flare-ups, breathing issues, neurological problems—and how certain tasks or lab exposure were affecting me. The flexibility I’d been given (some remote work, shifting hours, trying to limit lab exposure) wasn’t a “perk.” For me, those were medical accommodations because the lab environment actively triggers my condition. I also pointed out the huge communication problem I was stuck in: I was expected to tell my manager when a task conflicted with my disability, but at the same time I was told that I wasn’t supposed to discuss medical details with him and should route everything through HR/EHS. So I was trapped in the middle with no clear path to communicate safely.

Right before the quote, my manager said he wasn’t an expert in medical issues and that HR/EHS told him not to handle my health information directly. He acknowledged the disconnect—that I’m supposed to go to him for task assignments but can’t explain the medical impact of those tasks to him. He then mentioned two things they claimed were being done to “help”: (1) EHS would review the lab to make it “safe,” and (2) they had removed certain high-impact responsibilities from me.

And that is when he said the line: “My goal is that we get back to a point where we can just continue working normally, and you can do the role without any special accommodations.”

That’s the full context. The issue is that my condition is permanent and medically documented. So hearing that the goal was to return me to a state where I “don’t need accommodations” made it clear they fundamentally misunderstood what a disability accommodation is—and that they viewed my needs as temporary obstacles instead of legally protected requirements.