Do I disclose my chronic illness to a potential employer?

[dogtorwannabee]

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I was diagnosed with epilepsy during my second year of vet school but i have not had any seizures since starting medication. I changed my lifestyle to accommodate my lowered seizure threshold and feel confident that I could be a great new grad veterinarian. I am afraid though that I may not be the candidate potential employers want because of the increased liability. In some of the epilepsy support groups I’m in they say not to mention our condition during the process of finding a job and to only disclose it after a job has been secured but I feel like that may not be the best thing to do in this field. Has anyone else been in this position? What did you do? I am interested in small animal GP and want a more structured mentorship program so I feel prepared when the training wheels come off but i know most of the things i want may only be possible through corporate and i am afraid to tell them that i have extra needs since that may make them want someone else. I really want to be honest but i also want to have a secure future.

 

[TrueButUseless]

Please look very closely at this website.

JAN - Job Accommodation Network

askjan.org

 

[battie]

Not as serious as your condition by any means medically. I have a fainting condition that is imperative for my coworkers to know I have on a need to know basis. But I didn't disclose it during the hiring process cause it doesn't affect my capabilities. I don't see why (with zero legal knowledge whatsoever) a prospective employer needs to know about your epilepsy at this point

 

[Drjc1977]

I was diagnosed with epilepsy during my second year of vet school but i have not had any seizures since starting medication. I changed my lifestyle to accommodate my lowered seizure threshold and feel confident that I could be a great new grad veterinarian. I am afraid though that I may not be the candidate potential employers want because of the increased liability. In some of the epilepsy support groups I’m in they say not to mention our condition during the process of finding a job and to only disclose it after a job has been secured but I feel like that may not be the best thing to do in this field. Has anyone else been in this position? What did you do? I am interested in small animal GP and want a more structured mentorship program so I feel prepared when the training wheels come off but i know most of the things i want may only be possible through corporate and i am afraid to tell them that i have extra needs since that may make them want someone else. I really want to be honest but i also want to have a secure future.

I am not an attorney, but under Michigan and I believe federal law enforced by EEOC, it is illegal to discriminate against someone (applicant or employee) because of that person's race, color, religion, sex (including gender identity, sexual orientation, and pregnancy), national origin, age (40 or older), disability or genetic information. With some possible exceptions, your medical health is no ones business but yours. I would suggest your consult your prospective state of possible employment and talk to their civil rights department. If they do not know, they will refer you to who does know. I wish you well.

 

[Minnerbelle]

You do not need to disclose until hired. And the employer needs to make reasonable accommodations that does not overly burden their business.

Something to consider is what veterinarian duties you can safely perform. I’m guessing that after being seizure free for this long, you have been cleared to drive a car. For general consults and animal handling, as long as you have an assistant/technician with you at all times (and have someone else restraining dangerous animals), you would be fine with the low risk of another seizure occurring. The question is whether you, your neurologist, and your employer feel comfortable with you holding a scalpel. If the answer is going to be no, you may want to look for a job where the clinic doesn’t necessarily need you to perform surgery, because disclosing after the fact that you cannot perform surgery when the particular job you got has it as an essential function and they needed you to perform surgery, that could be a problem as that would overly burden the business.

 

[pp9]

I've actually worked for a vet that had a seizure condition, and she had several seizures while at work in the year I was there. She was the only vet/owned the clinic, so a bit different from your situation. As her employee, it was helpful to have a conversation beforehand so a. no one was surprised b. they know what they should/should not do while she was having a seizure. Given that she owned the clinic, though, it's not like she had to answer to anyone regarding whether or not she should be doing surgery. I think we got lucky in that we never ended up having a patient under anesthesia at the same time she had a seizure.

Plenty of vets/techs have chronic illnesses/other and do just fine in the workforce. I know vets/techs with MS, severe allergies (myself included), deafness, congenital hand deformities, severe dyslexia, severe vision deficits, etc. I believe there is a Facebook group out there for DVMs with chronic illnesses. I'm not in it, but if you are in NOMV or any other group, I'm sure someone could direct you/get you invited. I bet you'd get a lot of great advice there.

I am not an attorney, but under Michigan and I believe federal law enforced by EEOC, it is illegal to discriminate against someone (applicant or employee) because of that person's race, color, religion, sex (including gender identity, sexual orientation, and pregnancy), national origin, age (40 or older), disability or genetic information. With some possible exceptions, your medical health is no ones business but yours. I would suggest your consult your prospective state of possible employment and talk to their civil rights department. If they do not know, they will refer you to who does know. I wish you well.

There are definitely legal protections, but there are also ways employers can get around those protections too (particularly corporate hospitals with resources). Some employers are exempt from certain laws entirely (specifically some accommodation laws).

 

[dogtorwannabee]

Thank you all for the advice! I know that legally an employer cannot discriminate against medical conditions and with your perspectives i think i will lean to informing an employer after a contract has been signed. I am fortunate that my condition is not severe enough that i am unable to participate in surgery and I have not had to make any changes to my curriculum throughout the last 2 years. I also do not have any driving restrictions besides maintaining my medication schedule and getting routine tests to make sure they are doing their job. The only things I believe I would need to make sure I along with my patients are safe is just to inform staff of what could happen and to make sure i am not the only vet on staff at any point in case something were to happen. I’m sure i will learn more about any specific needs i will have as i navigate the beginning of my career but you all have eased this fear I have and i very much appreciate it!

 

[Musicandhorses]

I would be very very cautious about disclosing your private medical information to your employer unless it directly impacts your employer. There have been cases in vet med of severe discrimination against disabilities. I would personally keep it private unless it’s interfering with your day to day job. That’s just my two cents. Also, I wouldn’t disclose it until after you’ve started your employment.

 

[Musicandhorses]

I am not an attorney, but under Michigan and I believe federal law enforced by EEOC, it is illegal to discriminate against someone (applicant or employee) because of that person's race, color, religion, sex (including gender identity, sexual orientation, and pregnancy), national origin, age (40 or older), disability or genetic information. With some possible exceptions, your medical health is no ones business but yours. I would suggest your consult your prospective state of possible employment and talk to their civil rights department. If they do not know, they will refer you to who does know. I wish you well.

It happens though. The EEOC does not protect employees very well, and corporations find pretext in each case. They get around the law. Sadly I know from personal experience

 

[EB73674]

It happens though. The EEOC does not protect employees very well, and corporations find pretext in each case. They get around the law. Sadly I know from personal experience

Came here to say the same, yes it's absolutely illegal, but to enforce that law you would need to provide quite a bit of evidence & go through the civil legal system after the fact. I've even seen it with employees who didn't disclose a pregnancy or intent to become pregnant, where my employers were saying "She should have told us before we hired her!" and I've literally had to say "Well you couldn't legally take that into account in the hiring process, so why would that have made a difference?"

 

[EB73674]

FWIW I don't have any intention of disclosing my invisible learning disability or my cancer diagnosis to any employers until I have a signed contract. I am very very lucky that I don't require any accommodations right now, just the flexibility to attend doctor's appointments for maintenance and get my medications adjusted as needed, but I still don't consider it anyone's business but my own since I don't require anything special. And even if I did require specific accommodations on a regular basis, those would be an after-hiring conversation. Whether or not it's legal, employers discriminate all the time, and the only enforcement comes from the employee suing after the fact.

 

[Musicandhorses]

FWIW I don't have any intention of disclosing my invisible learning disability or my cancer diagnosis to any employers until I have a signed contract. I am very very lucky that I don't require any accommodations right now, just the flexibility to attend doctor's appointments for maintenance and get my medications adjusted as needed, but I still don't consider it anyone's business but my own since I don't require anything special. And even if I did require specific accommodations on a regular basis, those would be an after-hiring conversation. Whether or not it's legal, employers discriminate all the time, and the only enforcement comes from the employee suing after the fact.

This