Disclosure to employers?

[morgan381]

I've had epilepsy for the past 9 years and recently became an RN. I've worked in a couple of clinics where disclosure was not expected. I recently was offered a job at a local hospital, but don't have the opportunity to sign the official offer until I've gone through my health screening. They've given me a stack of pre-employment paperwork to bring to my screening appointment. In these papers is a disclosure form. It asks if I have several medical conditions, including epilepsy. I am also expected to bring the medications I take (both prescription and OTC). Then I have to sign a disclosure form that says I have honestly answered the health questions and that if I fail to disclose the information, I may be terminated. I have simple partial and complex partial seizures, which occasionally generalize into tonic-clonic, though I have been VERY fortunate that they've been medically controlled for about 5 years. Can they legally require me to disclose this information? Can they deny me employment if they feel I may endanger patients? I know there are ADA laws, but still...
Any advice??

 

[Nakamova]

Check out this link. Scroll down to "OBTAINING, USING, AND DISCLOSING MEDICAL INFORMATION". It tells what employers can ask, and when.

http://www.eeoc.gov/facts/epilepsy.html

 

[Rae1889]

As far as i know (with canadian law) they cannot deny you employment and they can not terminate you for the disorder, as long as they have knowledge of it. So if you bring in a neurologist note as well saying that you are in no way of endangering patients as you are well controlled, then it should be fine.

in canada a work place must adapt to a "disabled" employee. that includes installing ramps if the person is in a wheel chair. changing lights that may bother someone, or even in your case, adjusting work hours so that they allow for regular sleep tiems, and med times.

 

[dfwtexas]

I live in Texas too...the employment laws are in employers favor in Texas...it's a at will state....legally they can't deny you a job because of medical reasons, but the law is pretty open that they can change their mind about hiring you as long as they say it's not due to medical reasons. I keep my E as secret because of these laws

 

[Crystalblue]

:agree:I hate to say this, but I learned this one the hard way. I'm also an RN, had a great job I really loved. My last performance review was glowing. When I started having seizures, I told my boss. I ended up getting a letter from my doctor very clearly stating that I was still capable and safe to do my job. Less than 2 weeks later, I was fired for "excessive absentee-ism".

I hate to sound jaded (but I am), but a prospective employer could hear about your E, and then turn you down for the job, saying it was for some other reason, or the position was already filled or whatever. Yes, there are laws to protect us, but they're very easy to get around.

 

[kcroake]

ADA laws protect us!

I, too, was fired from my job as a Veterinary Technician (Vet nurse) because I had to call in "sick" two times in one month. I had a seizure in the morning both times so I called in sick. My employer knew about my epilepsy, that I take meds to control it, the frequency of my seizures, & that I would have an aura to allow others to know when it was going to happen. I also told them what my seizures are like & the exact words I would say to alert them during my aura. I told them this on my first day of work, which was just orientation, and they seemed to have no problem with it . Most of the other techs & Vets were glad to know, honestly. Since I worked in surgery at a large, prestigious hospital, it was a well-oiled machine and I fit in well with everyone & had no performance issues. I was an 'at-will' employee & full time but being an 'at-will' employee doesn't give them the right to break the law.
Needless to say, I was shocked, speechless, angry & upset when my supervisor called me one hour after I called her the second time to tell me "it's just not working out. you already have -16 hours of sick time. We will have to terminate you." What they did was unlawful, obtuse, and ignorant so I have decided to sue them. This happens way too often to epileptics because no one understands that we are capable human beings, can hold down a job, don't typically need emergency medical treatment, & that epilepsy isn't a form of mental retardation.
According to the ADA and the Amendments Act of the ADA, which are Federal laws, you do not have to disclose this information during your interview but once hired, you are obligated to tell your supervisor; it is for your protection & they can't fire you for it. In fact, the law states that they need to provide "reasonable accommodations" for you unless it causes an undue financial hardship. I am taking legal action against them so wish me luck! As an epileptic, it is my duty to stand up for our civil rights.

 

[Loopy Lou]

Here in the UK, every job i've applied for comes with a medical questionnaire. If you fail to disclose something and then it causes problems with your work later, you can be fired.

I haven't heard back from any of the jobs i've recently applied for

 

[Rae1889]

According to the ADA and the Amendments Act of the ADA, which are Federal laws, you do not have to disclose this information during your interview but once hired, you are obligated to tell your supervisor; it is for your protection & they can't fire you for it. In fact, the law states that they need to provide "reasonable accommodations" for you unless it causes an undue financial hardship. I am taking legal action against them so wish me luck! As an epileptic, it is my duty to stand up for our civil rights.

right.

You must tell your employer as you can be sued yourself for any liabilty and damages that occur if you have a seizure at work and didnt tell them that you had E.

Also they cannot fire you for absentee-ism if you have a doctors note that states that if you have a seizure, it can take up to 2 (or more depending on your case) to feel well enough to come back to work. It should also state that seizures can cause injury and that they are unpredictable (as in which day you will have it, not as in auras) and that it is impractical to go to the hospital each time a seizure occurs, big or little.

 

[matchu]

I am out of work myself, and am dreading the whole ordeal. Last time this happened I applied for disability and it was humiliating to say the least. I am planning on moving to the uk ASAP. I need a break

 

[rangerwvu]

As a person with E, I can truly relate and hate that everyone has to deal with this and go through these experiences which can leave us feeling less than, angry, and not to mention poor! The difficulty in states with at-will employment is that you can be terminated without cause basically. If they are smart, management does not give the employee a reason other than a basic 'sorry, we are no longer in need of your services'. If they actually give you a reason, such as the aforementioned example of excessive use of sick time, THEN you have a potential cause to file a grievance, legal action, etc...the good thing is that a surprising number of employers in at-will states do give folks a reason for termination (which is the right thing to do!). You would have a cause to say, they told me the termination was due to sick, failure to perform, etcc...but it was really because of my E. One important note, before you do anything else, you should file an internal grievance following that companies policy. If it is a larger employer, such as an hospital they will have one. Typically it involves a form and specific process of sending the grievance into personnel. If they do not respond to you, then you can still move forward. I mention this as the very first thing any outside process will ask (such as govt EEOC review board, attorney, etc..) is did you file a grievance with your employer and what was the response? Basically, the concept is a fair one. If the employer (at a higher level such as HR and other administration) did not know of this situation (not the termination but that the reason is to getting rid of you due to E in reality vs whatever the manager is telling them), they, as a company, are much lesss responsible as they had a rouge manager acting on their own outside of company policy blah blah.....even if you know that they all did know, and perhaps even directed this decision, still follow the companies grievance/appeal process or you weaken your case significantly.

for jobs such as nursing...that is a different beast. Make sure that you do not find youself in a role such as surgical nurse, etc....floor nursing in a hospital could be tricky as well...it is easy to justify that there is the potential for a patient to be in some type of danger...now, I know this is mostly ridiculous, as any employee us could suffer a heart attack and have a sliip of a syringe, etc...but, we are stuck with this situation. And, if you do not disclose, well, everyone has spoken to that pretty well. So if you are able, find positions in which you do not have to work with any 'instruments or medical tools'...other than blood pressure cuffs, etc...then you are much safer in terms of employement and probably will make employers much less nervous. An unfortunate reality is that they have a huge liability with patients and get sued on a daily basis...and their insurance companies are looking for an 'out' in any given suit. So....I do NOT agree with the employer, but some untrained managers can have that guide their decisions.

sorry so long, but I support you and was just hoping to provide some info that will give you some ideas about how to manage this....

 

[rangerwvu]

response to Morgan

response to Morgan:
sorry, got into response to other situations in your post...just thought about that fact! Anyway, if your seizures have been well controlled for 5 years, one thought would be to add a note from your Doc to the info indicating that your seizures have been well controlled for 5 years plus and that you are compliant with your medical management of E (if you really dont see a neuro as they have been controlled so long, your primary care should be fine to submit this as well). If you have already submitted the paper work and you are concerned about it, you could call the Personnel Dept and flat out ask if you should add it to your application information as it is not an issue and you want to make certain that they are aware of how long you have been seizure free...they certainly have other nursing staff who have diabetis and other conditions which can potentially impact performance on any given day....Since it has been so long, you will likely be ok and in terms of their liability, it really is not an issue due to the time period. So...guess I am saying, especially in that larger medical environment, you will probably be ok disclosing your general health but just be sure to add/include the detail of seizure free for 5 years.....that fact greatly reduces any lack of hiring due to the E; you are in a very unique situation with nursing.....all the best to you and I hope you got/get the job!

 

[draggrif]

Is a state with 'at will' employment the same as 'right to work'? I know Idaho is a right to work state, and here they don't even need to couch it in terms like 'we no longer require your services'. The first job I ever had I was fired from due to medical problems, and they said it outright. It's legal to fire someone for being sick, gay, or for no reason at all. About the only thing they can't flat fire you for in Idaho is being black (though any other minority will certainly have a hard time finding a job in some areas, especially native americans)

 

[rangerwvu]

I will take a stab at this, and should say I am no expert on it...a right to work state really has to do with the becoming employed end of it..that is, it stems from back when some employers/unions required people to become a member of the union as a condition of employment. The process for terminating someone is different in a unionized environment...IMO, the only difference is that there is an outside party of sorts making sure that the company is following their own procedures, helping the employee navigate the system and certainly assisting the employee with appeals and/or even securing retraining, etcc....and if management has followed their internal process and it is basically a 'fair' termination, the only real difference, IMO, is that there is an additional person sitting in the room (union rep) when the employee is fired.

Another difference is that typically in a right to work state, perhaps because of unions and history of??, the employement laws more frequently a bit more stringent and require employers to provide a reason for the termination. Now, all that being said, anyone can fire anybody for any reason....but if the firing does not follow the companies process, it does not comply with state and/or federal law, etc...an internal appeal/grievance should be pursued....if that does not work or you do not get what you feel is fair, then IMO you should contact the EEOC office that represents your area, they will take info and basically decide if it is something they need to follow up on (investigate) and ultimately, if there is deemed to be just cause for a claim, they have a process that you go through. Completing this successfully can result in many things....so if someone feels the firing is unjust due to race, disability, etc..it would be a good idea in IMO to contact them simulataneusly for info while you pursue the companies internal grievance/appeal process. Def go onto the web and see the info there....anything related to sick, race, etc...can be cause for them to open an investigatioin. I would suggest checking the web first to be sure of all the facts around the process. I hate that people have to deal with bigots, etc...out there!