Well, as promised, here's a diary posting the end result of my round with Human Resources, my bosses, and the entire convoluted situation I posted the last time. It turned out far better then I anticipated. Follow below the link for the details.
(And for those dear readers just joining us, the byzantine background of this mess can be found here: (Losing my job in the worst possible way)
The lawyer's meeting turned out to be quite disappointing, mostly because I made a fatal mistake right at the beginning of this job: I didn't inform everyone involved in writing of my disabilities after I was hired on. That's a lesson I'm going to be taking to heart in future employment, because it gives me a layer of protection I did not have here. If they fired me, they were well within Michigan law, and in fact, the lawyer expected that fire me they would after I failed to attend the first meeting.
Instead, they offered another meeting this last Tuesday. I took it without hesitation, and showed up dressed in my best, taking detailed notes. The only people in that meeting were my Big Boss, his admin assistant, me, and the HR person. The meeting was very simple: they read the complaints against me ("odd vibes", inappropriate behavior, and the one loss of cool with the administrative assistant). I answered them as best as I could, and re-informed them of my disabilities. Perhaps the most amusing part of it came when the HR person actually asked how the University could best accommodate my disabilities.
I told them, "I know it's a pithy thing to say, but not firing me would be a really good start."
Apparently someone took that to heart, because today, the results finally came in:
I'm not fired.
I'm not laid off - yet.
My suspension is paid.
I get a written warning (which means next time I go off, I will be fired).
I go back to work tomorrow.
If they can't find a new workspace/lab for me, my work here comes to and end, but it would have to be a layoff - that gives me 30 days' warning, an extra paycheck, and unemployment.
At worst, I get a compromise - a layoff sooner then anticipated, but still a layoff, not a firing. I bought myself some time and am no longer bleeding money.
May not be as good as some giant settlement and never having to work again, or a promise of a new job, but honestly, I think it's the best I could have done under the circumstances, and I'm damned happy about it.
Now, off to celebrate.