Treated unfair at work

After being gone all last week from work, part of it spent in the hospital again, I come back to my first day and feel like I've been treated so unfairly that I'm looking for a new job as we speak. I worked in a multi-specialty doctor's office. Basically an office made up of about 12 doctors, surgeons, physician assitistants... And then of course nurses, bussiness office workers, coders and so on. I am a nurse here and have been on almost 3 years. I have worked in almost every (nursing) area in this building and my boss uses me in various areas when she needs me to fill in for someone. My "main" job though is receiving electronic prescription refill requests and processing them (going through the protocol of labwork and appointments) and then sending them to the provider and telling them how many refills that person can have. Not a very hard job, but we have a lot of patients and it keeps me busy. Anyway, my direct boss used to have the same job I do before she got promoted to boss. When she had my job she got breat cancer. Because she wasn't able to come into work very well being sick and all they let her telecomute from home and do this job at home on the days she wasn't feeling well. Well since I have this job now, I have asked her many times starting back in December if I could telecomute and work from home on my "bad" days. I have been repeatedly told no. She says it's because it's not the "facilities policy" to do it that way and it would be a "HIPPA violation risk" if I were to have the computer at home with any patient information. I've always been a little bothered by her response since she was able to do the exact same job I'm doing from home before she was ever boss. Anyway...I come to work today and one of my co-workers that works across the hallway from me has been on maternity leave since last week. When I get on my computer I realize that my co-worker on maternity leave is somehow logged onto the computer system and is doing some of my work. I thought that this was a mistake and that someone was using her log-in information so I alerted my boss that I thought someone was trying to work under her name. My boss emails me back and says that my co-worker is the one working under her own name, and that she is working from home.....WORKING FROM HOME DOING MY JOB! I am furious right now!!! I have been practically begging to do some work from home so I wouldn't have to miss on my paycheck as much, and I would still be helping out my work. My mother and my boyfriend say I should take this matter to the "top", who is a surgeon that's CEO of the clinic and that I'm on good terms with. The thing is, I'm so furious right now that I almost want to just find another job. I'm not for sure what to do. I don't know how to approach this with the "top" doctor without totally making my boss mad at me. She's already playing favorites and I don't want to be treated any worse. Does anyone have any ideas on how I can approach this?

Thanks in advance!

So sorry to hear of your problems at work, it is really too bad.
First of all allow yourself to cool down and start to think rationally.
Since you have previously discussed the topic of working from home with this person and received negative response then it would appear justifiable to take it to the higher level.
If you are on good terms with the real boss then I would suggest you talk with him
about your concerns and the unfairness of it all.
Workplace rules should be clear and transparent and also given in writing at the start of one's job.,and this could form a base on which to start the conversation with the big boss.
I would also be prepared to move on if necessary and if it would be more comfortable to do so.
However I don't see why you should be robbed of the seniority you have earned without having your say.
If this worker is reprimanded for her negative attitudes causing unhappiness she may continue to make life difficult for you.
It really hinges on the big boss and how he handles the situation.
Good luck with a happier resolution.
Feel better soon
Hugs and best wishes
Trysha

I am so sorry you are going through all this. I don't know if your office is large enough for you to qualify for the Americans with Disabilities Act. Where I work, I was repeatedly told I couldn't work from home (even though I work with people from all over the world), but then I was able to get an accommodation under the ADA to work from home. I needed cooperation from my doctor, but otherwise, it wasn't too difficult to get it. You do need to show that it will allow you to continue to do your job, but if others are working from home, that shouldn't be hard. It also would make your employer delineate the rules for working from home, and any HIPPA issues.

If this doesn't work out, though, you might have to move on.

So I emailed the top boss about my concerns. I explained how I've been asking for 3 months now if I could work from home on the days I'm not feeling good enough to come into work. I told him how I knew the job was doable from home because my boss did it before she became the boss. And then I told him that I wasn't trying to get my boss in trouble or start any kind of resentment or hard feelings. Yhhis response was "let me check into this". Then a while later I get an email from my boss stating that the reson the other girl can work from home is because she's on maternity leave and not sick. My boss says that I stay home when I'm really sick and in pain and I take my pain medication there for I can't work while on pain medication and needing to "stay home to heal". This statement of hers isn't the complete truth. Yes, there are times I stay home because I'm hurting so bad I can barely move. But there are other times too when I just can't hardly get off the toilet because of the D or I'm throwing up or here lately been having troubles with incontinence and urgency. On the days I'm hurting so bad I can't move then or course I wouldn't be even working from home because I don't feel good enough to do anything. But on the days where the D is so bad I'm in the bathroom most od the day I could still use my laptop and work on the things in between trips to the toilet or even while sitting on the toilet! The girl that's working from home isn't even doing her job that she usually does, she's doing my job! And there is another girl that was on maternity leave last year that asked to work from home and was told no. I feel like I'm being discriminated against and that my boss is playing favorites. Does anyone know if I have a case for discrimination here? Or am I just being silly?

After reading all the info so far, it just sounds like a lack of communication.
If you really want the at home position with this company it is worth fighting for.
It sounds like it would work for both you and your office so you would be doing them a favor as well. You could even do a write up and say it would be on a 3 month trial basis.

Be very specific on how this would help the company. Although they sound like they are trying to be sensitive to everyone, their main concern has to be to the job and the law. Let them know that no matter what the job comes first and you would not have to go into detail about your personal issues.

Find out the specific laws and tell them you are willing to follow ALL regulations and documentation needed. You could even take a slight paycut to show your interest and expect the amount you are making now at the end of the trial (anyways, you get the idea) It is not personal, so you have to look at it from a business stand point. Stay strong and professional and use all of us for venting.

You can do this and I am behind you 100% I hope it works out for you. My own daughter will need to work out a type of job from home someday and you are setting the tracks for others. thank you