Getting a smartphone my freshman year of college was the beginning of a slow decline in my ability to pay attention for a sustained period of time, a skill of mine that wasn’t strong to begin with. Surprisingly, I think my ADHD actually got worse as I got older. In a conference with my mom, my second-grade teacher described me as “an absent-minded professor.” My backpack looked like a bomb had exploded among all my papers. Reflecting on my school days now, the biggest symptom I showed then was a lack of organization. I didn’t act out in class, wasn’t in trouble often, and got pretty good grades throughout high school. But I didn’t fit the profile of a typical kid with the disorder. Like most people with ADHD, my issues with attention and focus began young. I didn’t realize that it would come with other consequences that made me reconsider whether the benefits were worth it. When I became one of the millions of people with an Adderall prescription, I was looking forward to experiencing its promise of more focus and productivity. I’d been researching attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and its treatment for months prior, and I guess I was expecting some kind of sophisticated blood or saliva test.īut after a quick diagnosis, I was given a prescription for 10 milligrams of Adderall, twice a day, and sent on my way.Īdderall is one of several stimulants that are approved to treat ADHD. This was my diagnosis during a 20-minute appointment, after my psychiatrist scanned my answers to a 12-question survey. This is one person’s powerful perspective.įurther, we urge you to work with your healthcare provider to address any physical or mental health concerns, and never stop a medication on your own. There is also a complaint form available on the Illinois Department of Labor’s website here.How we see the world shapes who we choose to be - and sharing compelling experiences can frame the way we treat each other, for the better. Their “One Day Rest in Seven Act” number is (312) 793-2804. The Department of Labor also enforces the law on behalf of employees. The employer must also tell them what their rest day during the week will be. The specific language is: “every employer shall post in a conspicuous place on the premises a schedule containing a list of his employees who are required or allowed to work on Sunday and designating the day of rest for each.”Įmployers can get permission from the Department of Labor to work their employees 7 days a week, but they can only do that a maximum of 8 weeks a year. If an employee must work Sundays, the employer needs to tell them that in advance. The law presumes that Sunday will be the one rest day in seven. If you work more than 20 hours per week for someone, that employer must give you “at least twenty-four consecutive hours of rest in every calendar week.” The Department of Labor says a calendar week runs Sunday-Saturday.īy law, a day of rest must be “in addition to the regular period of rest allowed at the close of each working day.” An employer who made you work until noon one day, for example, and then report back at noon the next day, could not call that 24 hours off a day of rest. In particular, it does not apply to part-time employees.Īdditionally, the Act does not cover farm workers, coal miners, security guards, and those who are classified by Federal law as “executive, administrative, or professional.” There are a few other exceptions as well. The law requiring one day of rest in seven applies to nearly all employers. It does not, however, apply to all employees. It also gives Cook County hotel room attendants who work at least 7 hours a day two paid 15-minute breaks, and one 30-minute meal break. In addition to requiring one day off per week, the Act also requires a 20-minute meal break if you work at least 7½ hours a day (which has to be given within the first 5 hours of the shift). The Illinois law that applies is called the “One Day Rest in Seven Act” (or, “ODRISA”). If you’re more than what the law calls part-time, you get a weekly day off. If you’re part-time (legally defined as working 20 or fewer hours per calendar week), you don’t get a mandatory day off. My employer sometimes schedules me to work as many as 10 days in a row. Is that legal? Aren’t I entitled to a day off every week? Answer The following question was submitted to John Roska, a lawyer/writer whose weekly newspaper column, 'The Law Q&A,' ran in the Champaign News Gazette.

My day one