I was with her up till this:
When DeGerolamo returned from leave in November 2012, she requested a work shift "by which she could come in after morning rush hour and leave prior to evening rush hour."
So she wanted to come in late and leave early - a reasonable thing might be to come in late / leave late or come in early / leave early, while still avoiding the rush hour. Or ride a bike or bus in, or move closer to work - there are many ways to avoid the rush hour traffic without dramatically shortening your work day.
Of course maybe the doctor's note actually said "she can only work 6 hours a day" and totally legit, but then the article is misrepresenting it.