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Federal law includes disabilities from past |
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Tuesday, 23 January 2007 |
Q. I recently ran a marathon to raise money for cancer research as a way to celebrate my second year of being cancer-free. I put up posters in my cubicle and asked for donations from a few co-workers. I told a few people I was running because I feel so lucky to have a second chance at life. I hate to jump to conclusions, but since then I feel like my HR manager and some supervisors have been acting strangely with me. The HR manager asked me (in what he thought was a casual way) how long I was out of work dealing with chemotherapy and its side effects. I'm not even sick now, but I feel like they're treating me like I am going to die within the month. Am I being discriminated against?
A. What a great question! Many people believe that the federal Americans with Disabilities Act only applies to individuals with current disabilities, that is, people with current substantial limitations on their major life activities.
In fact, the ADA also protects people from discrimination if they have a history of a disability or are perceived to have a disability.
You know you're cancer-free, but your HR manager might be simply seeing you as a representation of future long-term absences and rising insurance premiums due to all of the expensive treatments you may need if your cancer returns.
Your supervisors, based on their own beliefs or misunderstandings about cancer, may now see you as a person with a weak constitution. They might now feel guilty for demanding long hours from you.
For an employer, learning that an employee had a history of a disability should not trigger any different behavior toward that employee.
So, it wouldn't be appropriate for your HR manager to ask you for medical clearance on learning you once had cancer if you've otherwise been performing well. However, it wouldn't be unreasonable for him to simply ask you if you need any changes or accommodations to do your job.
If you don't need anything (which seems to be the case), the conversation should stop right there.
If your feeling of strange vibes persists, you might consider sitting down with supervisors and your HR manager and simply educating them a bit on your current condition. Dispelling myths is often the most effective way to fight discrimination.
Proulx is a former supervisory investigator and Tuazon is a current investigator for the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
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