12 NEED HELP AT WORK? THE NATIONAL MS SOCIETY AND THE JOB ACCOMMODATION NETWORK (JAN) CAN HELP Employment. It’s important to everyone, especially people living with disabilities. National MS Society staff members are often asked by people living with MS if they should continue working, whether they should disclose their diagnosis and how to ask for an accommodation that would make doing their job easier. Unfortunately, people living with disabilities often leave the work force without exhausting all possible options. Many times, they are simply not aware of their rights and the resources available to them. Two of the most common reasons people discontinue working include issues around disclosure and accommodations. Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), an individual has the right to choose whether to disclose their condition to their employer. If an individual decides to disclose their disability to their employer, that individual has the right to
MS CONNECTION: FALL 2013
request a reasonable accommodation, as long as it does not cause an undue hardship for the employer. Determined case by case, this is an accommodation that would cause significant expense or business hardship for the employer. Reasonable accommodations are changes to the work environment or to the way an essential function job function is performed. An accommodation allows a qualified individual with a disability to enter or continue employment by removing or modifying on-the-job-barriers to successful job performance. Examples of reasonable accommodations could include: • A flexible work schedule • Working from home occasionally • Adaptive computer technology • Visual aids • Adjustments to desk height to fit a wheelchair underneath Before requesting an accommodation, you must identify your essential job functions and whether or not your MS symptoms are affecting your ability to perform these functions. It’s a good idea to ask your employer for a copy of your essential job functions. Understanding what accommodations are and strategizing the best solutions for each individual is an important piece of working successfully with a disability. Requesting