After over a year i was switched from afternoon shift to night shift against my will. I tried to apeal it. They strung me along with hopes of going back to afternoon shift, for months. Until i had lost so much sleep that i crashed my vehicle. In the falliwing 2-3 months i had missed some time at work to avoid crashing again. Then they were threatening my job. Told me i can be there and be tired but i must be there. A week later i was there and tired. I was falling asleep welding while standing up... I went out for some air and fell asleep for the rest of my shift. In fear of being fired. I called in that night and seen a doctor and took a stress leave so they couldnt fire me. I hit my head in the accident and i think some memory loss occured. I still have very little memory of the accident nearly 7 months later. I kept forgetting to get the doctor to fill out the paperwork for short term disability so I could be paid for the stress leave.. After more lost sleep from nightmares of crashing and nightmares of losing my job i couldnt bare the thaught of returning. I was supposed to return the 7th of April but the stress of thinking about going back there had me sick to my stomach with anxiety. I didnt return to work. I spoke with HR and told them i couldnt afford to have the paper filled out from the doctor. They offered no help of any sort. The liss of income has left my family in a horrible situation. The financial toll has me to the point that im being evicted from my home. My drivers license has been suspended cause i couldnt afford the fine from the accident for so long that i forgot about it. I have fallen behind on car payments and insurance payments and now my insurance has been cancelled and im facing vehicle reposetion. I tried to start a landscaping business so i had some income again but now i cannot drive and am very near losing my new vehicle. Im out of options. Im losing my home, my vehicle and my work toward starting a business is nearly lost. If i cant drive ill lose the few customers i have acquired and the little income im getting from it. My employer ran me to the ground til it nearly killed me then left me with no choice but to take a leave. Then sent me a letter i recieved on may 18th saying i didnt come back when i was supposed to and if they didnt hear from me by may 7th they would assume i quit. I got the letter 11 days after the deadline they said on the letter. My head aches just thinking about going back there so I called and said i wouldnt be returning. Hr said to send an email so they had it "in writing" then they would give me whatever vaccation pay they owe me next payday. I feel as though they have ruined my life. The pain and suffering that not only myself but my partner and my children have had to bear has left us nearly homeless with no options. I feel like vaccation pay does NOT make up for the position they have left my family in. My partner is pregnant with our 3rd child. My oldest(3 years old) has Autism and does not speak. My 2 year old shows a lot of the same symptoms including not speaking. My wife my kids and myself have so much stress on us from this and we feel like we have no escape. As i mentioned my wife is almost 30 weeks pregnant and does not need the stress and anxiety of being near homeless.
My employer would not accomodate my needs and the needs of my children who dont know any better and they have left me helpless. Do i have any sort of case against them or do i simply give up?