Momentum - Spring 2013

Matters

it’s not recommended that
you disclose at the interview,”
says Barbara McKeon, the
National MS Society’s director
of Employment Programs and
Services in the New York City
area. “You really want them to
focus on you as a worker, not as a
person with MS.”
Lakshmi Roberta Roy decided
not to disclose her MS when
interviewing for a job in the
mid-1990s. “I didn’t feel like
I needed to because I had no
outward signs that I had MS,”
says the 46-year-old attorney
from Delran, N.J. She decided
to disclose her condition only
after she had already established
herself and her abilities at the law
firm that had hired her. Legally,
you’re under no obligation to
broach the subject and your
interviewer may not ask about
your disability. And ethically, it’s
well within your rights to decide

If you decide, however, to disclose your MS and the employer rescinds its offer, then you may have a case for a discrimination charge through the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), Nissen says. Visit the EEOC at eeoc.gov or call 800-669-4000.

“You always want to stay focused on your strengths,” says Kris Graham, employment manager at the Information Resource Center of the National MS Society. “You want to make sure the message you convey is about how the accommodation will assist you in doing a good job.”

When MS is visible If you have discernable symptoms, the decision to disclose your MS can become more complicated. Mobility challenges may become an issue even before a job interview if the interview room or building is inaccessible. But if you stay focused on your abilities, not your disabilities, you may even turn potential negatives—such as your need for accommodations—into positives.

If you do decide to disclose your MS, Nissen suggests letting the hiring manager know only as much as you’re comfortable telling. This may be no more than, “I’ve been diagnosed with a chronic condition.” Describe symptoms in nonmedical terms (for example, “I often feel tired because of my condition”) and then outline any accommodations you expect to need. Give the person time to absorb the information and ask questions.

While the hiring manager may not legally ask you questions about your disability, there can be a fine line between legal questions about whether you’re able to perform essential job functions and illegal ones. “Can you type 65 words per minute?” would be an acceptable question for an administrative job. But “Why are you in a wheelchair?” would be unacceptable. Visit

nationalMSsociety.org/ Disclose Work for more information about the disclosure process; and be sure to read our feature on the ifs, whens and hows of disclosure both on the job and in your life in the Summer 2013 issue.