Can My Employer Disclose Information About My Reasonable Accommodation to My Co-Workers?
If you have a disability as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), you may be entitled to a reasonable accommodation in your workplace. The ADA defines a disability as “a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities.” Specific reasonable accommodations are not set by the ADA but rather are determined on a case-by-case basis depending on the employee’s disability and the employment context. Reasonable accommodations can vary widely depending on an employee’s disability, from a flexible work schedule or work-from-home options to the use of assistive technologies or alternative material formats in the workplace. The ADA covers workplaces with 15 or more employees.
You may be concerned about others in your workplace learning about your disability, and you may be worried that requesting a reasonable accommodation will result in your co-workers knowing personal information that you want to keep private. When you request a reasonable accommodation, your employer is permitted under the ADA to ask for sufficient documentation of your disability if the need for your accommodation is not obvious, but your employer must protect any information they receive. To be clear, your employer cannot disclose information about your ADA accommodation to your co-workers. If this happens, you may be able to file an ADA claim.
Employers Must Keep Medical Information Confidential
Under the ADA, your employer must keep any medical information related to your disability confidential. That means your employer cannot share any information with your co-workers, for example.
The ADA’s medical confidentiality rules are serious, and if your employer violates them, you may be able to file an ADA claim.
What Your Employer Cannot Do
If you request a reasonable accommodation, your employer cannot disclose details about your disability or even that you have a disability and are receiving a reasonable accommodation under the ADA. A supervisor or manager may need to have certain information about your reasonable accommodation, which the ADA can allow for, but in general, your employer cannot otherwise provide any details about your disability, your reasonable accommodation or the fact that you have a disability or a reasonable accommodation.
If an employer tells other employees that you are receiving a flexible work schedule, for example, because you have depression or anxiety, or responds to employee questions by saying that you have a reasonable accommodation under the ADA (or discloses even more details), you should talk with an employment discrimination lawyer about moving forward with an ADA claim.
Contact a Palm Beach Gardens Disability Discrimination Attorney for Help with Your Case
If you requested a reasonable accommodation under the ADA and your employer disclosed information about your disability in the workplace, you may be able to file an ADA claim. As we discussed above, employers must comply with medical privacy requirements under the ADA and cannot discuss your disability with your co-workers or details about your health and the reasons for your accommodation. One of the experienced Palm Beach Gardens disability discrimination lawyers at Sconzo Law Office can talk with you today to learn more about your situation and to help you move forward with a disability discrimination claim. Contact our firm to find out more about how we can assist you.
Source:
ada.gov/law-and-regs/ada/
