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Disclosing Your Disability to an Employer
Only you can decide whether and how much to tell your employer about your
psychiatric disability. On the positive side, telling your employer about your
diagnosis is the only way to protect your legal right to any accommodations you
might need to get or keep a job. However, revealing your disability also leaves
you open to discrimination which may limit your opportunities for employment and
advancement.
It's a complex decision, and one you shouldn't make until you've thought it
through. Here's what you might want to think about:
Preparing to Disclose
1. Assess your job search skills to determine whether you need help from your
therapist or mental health agency to:
2. Identify any potential accommodations you might need during the hiring
process or on your first day of work
3. Explore your feelings about having a mental illness and about sharing that
information with others -- remember, no one can force you to disclose if you
don't want to
4. Research potential employers' attitudes toward mental illness and screen
out unsupportive employers
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 | Have they hired someone with a psychiatric disability before? |
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| Do they personally know someone with a mental illness? |
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| What positive or negative experiences have they had in employing someone
with a mental illness? |
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| Do they show signs -- newsletters, posted notices, employee education
programs about mental illness, etc. -- of encouraging a diverse workforce? |
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| Do they have a corporate culture that favors flex time, mentoring
programs, telecommuting, flexible benefit plans, and other programs that help
employees work efficiently and well? |
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| Does the job have certain requirements (e.g., child care, high security,
some government positions) that would put you at a disadvantage if you
disclosed your diagnosis? |
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5. Weigh the benefits and risks of disclosure
6. If you decide not to disclose, find other ways to get the support you
need
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| Behind-the-scenes support from friends, therapists, etc. |
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| Research potential employers who provide these supports to all employees |
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7. If you decide to disclose, plan in advance how you'll handle it
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| Who will say it (you, your therapist, your job coach, etc.) |
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| What to say (see below) |
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| When to say it
Under the ADA, a person with a disability can choose to disclose at any time,
and is not required to disclose at all unless s/he wants to request an
accommodation or wants other protection under the law. Someone with a
disability can disclose at any of these times:
We recommend disclosing sometime before serious problems arise on the job. It
is unlikely that you would be protected under the ADA if you disclosed right
before you were about to get fired. Employers are most likely to be responsive
to a disclosure if they think it is done in good faith, and not as a
last-ditch effort to keep your job. |
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| Who to tell
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When You Disclose
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| 1. Decide how specific you will be in describing your psychiatric
disability
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| General terms: a disability, a medical condition, an illness |
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| Vague but more specific terms: a biochemical imbalance, a neurological
problem, a brain disorder, difficulty with stress |
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| Specifically referring to mental illness: a mental illness, psychiatric
disorder, mental disability |
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| Your exact diagnosis: schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major depression,
anxiety disorder |
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| 2. Describe the skills you have that make you able to perform the main
duties of the job
3. Describe any functional limitations or behaviors caused by your
disability which interfere with your performance (See Steps to Define
Functional Limitations)
4. Identify the accommodations you need to overcome those functional
limitations or behaviors (See Steps to Identify Reasonable Accommodations)
5. Optional: You may choose to describe the behaviors or symptoms the
employer might observe and tell the employer what steps to take as a result.
6. Point the employer to resources for further information
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You may find it helpful to prepare a script to read from. For example:
"I have (preferred term for psychiatric disability) that I am recovering
from. Currently, I can/have (the skills required) to do (the main duties) of the
job, but sometimes (functional limitations) interfere with my ability to (duties
you may have trouble performing). It helps if I have (name the specific
accommodations you need). I work best when (other accommodations)."
You could also add the following information:
"Sometimes you might see (symptoms or behaviors associated with symptoms).
When you see that, you can (name the action steps for the employer). Here is the
number of my (employment specialist, doctor, therapist, previous employer, JAN,
etc.) for any information that you might need about my ability to handle the
job."
© 1997, 1998 Center for Psychiatric
Rehabilitation, Boston University
January 27, 2006
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