Disability Disclosure

[sharon_k]

What is the name of your state? - FL. I suffer from chronic anxiety/depression. I would like to disclose this to my employer in order to seek an accommodation. Does disclosing a disability offer any protection to your position?

 

[Just Blue]

What is the name of your state? - FL. I suffer from chronic anxiety/depression. I would like to disclose this to my employer in order to seek an accommodation. Does disclosing a disability offer any protection to your position?

https://forum.freeadvice.com/threads/should-i-disclose-a-disability.658787/

 

[Taxing Matters]

What is the name of your state? - FL. I suffer from chronic anxiety/depression. I would like to disclose this to my employer in order to seek an accommodation. Does disclosing a disability offer any protection to your position?

If you are going to ask for an accommodation then you'll need to disclose the disability. Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) you are only entitled to an accommodation if you have a disability. The employer needs to know that you have a disability and how that disability interferes with your ability to do the essential elements of your job in order to figure out what kind of accommodation to provide. The ADA prohibits the employer from discriminating against you because of the disability and requires that the employer keep the health information related to the disability confidential. Note that the ADA only applies to employers with at least 15 employees. If you work for a smaller employer than that you get no protection or benefit from the ADA though some small employers may elect to provide disabled employees with reasonable accommodation anyway. Some states have their own similar protections as the ADA that they extend to smaller employers. Florida is one of them, so even if the ADA doesn't help you, perhaps Florida law does.

Also, it's important to understand that the ADA's purpose (and that of Florida law, too) is to help disabled employees to perform the essential tasks of their job up to the required level like any other employee is expected to meet. The employer is not required to lower job standards as an accommodation. If you are unable to meet the requirements of the job with or without an accommodation then the employer may still fire you. That's something that a lot employees don't seem to understand, and it's important. You still have to meet the same job standards as everyone else.

Bottom line, if you want the accommodation, you need to disclose you have the disability and how it affects your ability to do the job.

 

[quincy]

Has anything changed with you/your health since you first asked this same question in May? Is your employer still the temporary employment agency?