Diabetes and Discrimination

As with any disability, you may be subject to discrimination.  The Americans with Disabilities Act was passed in 1990, guaranteeing anyone with disabilities equal access in the workplace and public places. 

Legally, you are under no obligation to provide your potential employer with any information about your diabetes and your employer is overstepping your rights if anyone directly asks you.  After you have received a job offer, an employer may ask about your health, including whether you have diabetes.  You may be required to complete a medical examination.

Once you have been offered a job, the employer cannot withdraw the offer because you have diabetes.  You will need to be able to perform the essential functions of the job with or without accommodations and without posing a direct threat to your safety and the safety of fellow employees.

You cannot be dismissed from your job because of increased health premiums, nor can your employer refuse to provide you with health insurance as long as it is provided for other employers who work a similar number of hours.  You also cannot be charged a different premium for your health insurance that what is charged to other employees.

Generally, it is a good idea to just keep your diabetes to yourself. 

Discrimination against Diabetes in the Workplace
By Vivian Brennan

You have two ADAs with you on this point. Not the American District Attorney (we hope…though in worse case scenarios it might get there), but the American Diabetes Association, and the American Disabilities Act. Both of these work to champion the rights of people with diabetes. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is another agency that advocates for equal rights for workers with diabetes.

Diabetes is legally seen as a disability, because it is a disease that affects a “major life activity.” Recent court rulings have established that eating is a major life activity, and so diabetics are protected by the disabilities act in the United States.

As a diabetic, you have certain rights. The right to eat food (either on the job, or to have a reasonable number of breaks to do so) has been recently ruled as crucial to all persons with diabetes. People with diabetes also have the right to monitor their blood glucose, and administer insulin or medication accordingly. If you work in a public environment, you might ask (or your work might ask) to have a relatively private space in which to give yourself injections. People with diabetes also need freely available bathroom breaks. As a diabetic, you might also request to work a constant shift, rather than a swing shift, if your doctor feels that your glucose will not be able to tolerate the changing schedule.

Medical information is confidential, and so you do not need to share your medical past with your employer. You can share what you want, and you should also share what will be needed. For instance, make your employer aware

The first step is to educate your employer. Explain what the effects of diabetes are and how diabetes can be managed. Explain what reasonable accommodations you might need to

Once you have a job, if you feel that you are experience discrimination, it is your job to fight to create a better work environment for people with diabetes. This might mean going higher up the management chain. As a last resort, this might even mean a lawsuit. There are lawyers who specialize in diabetes claims. You might win lost wages or damages from the suit, and you will hopefully make the work environment better for any diabetics who come later.

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