intolerance, Vogel suggests. “If
your employer has a disability
ERG and they celebrate
Disability Awareness Month,
you’re more inclined to be met
with respect.” If not, you may
want to proceed with caution.
Visit nationalMSsociety.org/
DiscloseWork for more about
disclosure at work.
If you take your complaint
to a manager, introduce your
documentation and avoid
making an emotional case, Joffe
suggests. “Explain how the
bullying is getting in the way
of your performance and ask
specifically for what you’d like to
see change.”
However, there may be
instances when office politics
favor the bully, Kelloway says.
“I once consulted with a
hospital where a surgeon was a
well-known bully and he was
the only surgeon there that did
a certain type of transplant,” he
says. “The hospital decided they
couldn’t afford to lose him.”
In such situations, it may be
time to make some decisions
about how to move forward.
Seeing a counselor can help
you work through your feelings
about the bullying, as well as
identify strategies that can help
you deal with the situation
on a day-to-day basis. An MS
Navigator can refer you to
professionals in your area. And,
if you ultimately decide that the
situation is untenable, and that
you need to leave your job, an
MS Navigator can refer you to
employment resources. Visit
askjan.org/indiv/index.htm#
job for links to job sites
specifically for people with
disabilities. n
*The names of individuals in
this article have been changed to
protect their identities.
Kelly Pate Dwyer is a freelance writer
in Denver. She writes about workplace issues, business and health.
The legal landscape
No federal law specifically protects adults from bullying, though
several bills on the table address bullying in schools, and Rep. Mike
Honda, D-Calif., launched the Congressional Anti-Bullying Caucus in
June 2012 to spread awareness about bullying among people of all
ages. He is considering proposing legislation, says his communications
director, Michael Shank.
That said, some bullying behaviors are considered harassment,
such as a coworker disparaging your character and spreading lies
about you. And harassment based on disability is illegal. To prove
harassment, you need to show yours is a “hostile work environment,”
says employment attorney Elaine Fitch of Washington, D.C.–based
Kalijarvi, Chuzi, Newman & Fitch, and that due to your MS you are
“substantially impaired in a major life activity” or “regarded as having a
disability or history of being disabled.”
However, harassment cases can be difficult to prove, Fitch says, and
even if an attorney believes you have a strong case, weigh carefully
whether fighting is worth the price—in terms of dollars, time and your
health. Visit eeoc.gov/laws/types/disability.cfm to learn more, or
call the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission at 800-669-4000.
