Disability Disclosure

Our View: Disclosure of disability to an employer is, from our perspective, a benefit to both parties. We believe that the potential employee needs to carefully evaluate what information he/she needs to disclose to ensure the employer understands what reasonable accommodations are required to enable an employee to meet performance requirements and work safely. This is a complex decision and having someone to discuss this with can be very helpful. Your counselor at R. Work Group will help you explore this area comprehensively.

Here are a few questions to help you get started in the process:

  1. Will my performance at this job be impacted by my disability/health issue?
  2. Do I take medication that has side-effects that an employer may need to be aware of for health and safety reasons? e.g. working at heights.
  3. Do I want to disclose my diagnosis or can I simply describe, to the employer, the impact my disability has on my functioning?

Our experience is that most employers are willing to provide appropriate accommodations when they understand the purpose of the request. Click here for a more detailed discussion on “To Tell or Not to Tell: Deciding if you should disclose disability or health related issues to an employer.”

Here is a website with excellent information on disability disclosure considerations: http://www.bu.edu/cpr/jobschool/disclosing.htm