I once worked for a high security government agency and during that time I would leave my cell phone on so that I could be reached because I might not be in my office either, I might have been in the field or in another part of the building.  My immediate supervisor and co-workers had no problem with it, I explained that my child had a life threatening medical condition and that I needed to be reached immediately should something happen to her.  This was during a time when she was still small and she would have a crisis anytime she became sick.

But the head of the department was a different story.  He felt that a sitter could handle the situation and one day when I left due to an emergency he was livid.  It’s not like I was out trying to catch bad guys or anything, I worked at a desk and did research on a computer.  I stayed there for 3 years until something better came a long and then I only gave a 1 week notice and left.  I felt bad for the supervisor that was understanding towards me, but not for the head of the department that had to find my replacement.

Now I am at a wonderful job, it’s a small business and the owners completely understand about my daughter, they bought me a cell phone and they pay for it every month and it is on 24 hrs a day.  Of course I have caller ID so if it is someone other than the school, doctor’s office, hospital etc,  I don’t answer it.  If they leave a message then I check the message to see if it is really important or not.

I’m not sure if there are any civil rights groups out there that can help in your situation, but I would definitely try to work it out with your supervisor. 

Sorry, I didn’t mean to ramble on.