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Information about all aspects of finances affected by a serious health condition. Includes income sources such as work, investments, and private and government disability programs, and expenses such as medical bills, and how to deal with financial problems.
Information about all aspects of health care from choosing a doctor and treatment, staying safe in a hospital, to end of life care. Includes how to obtain, choose and maximize health insurance policies.
Answers to your practical questions such as how to travel safely despite your health condition, how to avoid getting infected by a pet, and what to say or not say to an insurance company.

My Survivorship A to Z Guide

Employment Issues Essential

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Note: This is a sample Survivorship A to Z Guide for a fictitious person we call Ellen. She is just diagnosed with Breast Cancer. To view a summary of her answers which led to this Guide, click here.

To get your own free, computer-generated A to Z Guide, click here.

One of the first issues at work is whether to tell about your diagnosis, including to whom, when, and what to tell. There are a variety of factors to consider when deciding whether to disclose or not.

There is no obligation to disclose your health condition at work.

When thinking about whether to disclose your condition, and if so, to whom, keep in mind that there is no right or wrong decision - only what works for you.

Consider the following factors.

  • Legal protections and rights available to people with Breast Cancer do not apply to you if you do not disclose your condition to your employer. For example,the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) and similar state laws and the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and similiar state laws. While each of these laws are described elsewhere, as a reminder:
    • The ADA provides protection against discrimination because of your health condition, requires that you be given a reasonable accommodation if needed to help you do your job despite your condition and/or treatment, and provides that an employer must keep information about your health condition confidential. The ADA also forbids an emplolyer from discriminating against you due to your health condition.
    • The FMLA provides up to 12 weeks off of work per year as needed for people who work for larger employers
  • You may need co-workers to help do your work when you are away for doctor's appointments or treatments or not feeling well. While there have been great strides in the medical world to reduce side effects to treatment, and to minimize the effect of those that do occur (see our article about Side Effects), there is likely to be some effect on your ability to do your job.
  • If you tell your employer, but not co-workers, and your employer gives you an accommodation to help you do your job, co-workers are likely to be curious and possibly resentful about the change.
  • If you tell co-workers, or they learn of your situation, they are under no obligation to keep your health information secret.
  • Experience indicates that the greater the secret, the greater the stress. While we provide information about dealing with stress, consider that this type of stress can be daily. For example, you will always need to be on guard to not say anything that could disclose your health condition, be sure there is no contact at work from a health care provider that could prompt suspicion, and that none of your circle of family and friends post anything on the internet which someone at work could see.
  • Think about where you are at work at the moment. For instance: if you are up for a promotion or a raise in the near future, it may be better to wait until you get the promotion and/or raise. It is not unusual for people with a health condition to get passed over or less than they expected.
  • Is the workplace friendly to people with cancer? What about your boss? Laws do not change the basic bact that employers will generally do what is good for business, which is not necessarily what is good for you. Even if an employer is not abiding by the law, working the system as a practical matter is preferable to the time, expense and stress of suing.(To learn about signs to look for, click here.)
  • You may prefer to keep silent about having a serious health condition until a particular event or events happen. For instance, you may decide to wait to disclose until you decide on a treatment and learn how it will affect your work.
  • A discussion may be uncomfortable because the site of your cancer is your breast. This may be particularly true with respect to co-workers.

NOTE: If you disclose your condition at work, think about how much you want to tell each person, and be prepared for differing reactions The factors to think about when telling people at work are the same as telling family and friends. For more information, click here. For information about telling co-workers, click here.

Although your health insurance is through work, your insurance company is not supposed to tell your employer about your health condition. This is the case even if the employer is large enough to self insure.

If you need an accommodation at work because of your medical appointments, treatment, or because you are not feeling well, you are entitled to a reasonable accommodation, but you have to negotiate for it. [Tell me more]

Even if you are entitled to an accommodation under laws such as the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA), you have to ask for and your employer has to agree to an accommodation such as getting to work late, leaving early, working from home, changing where you work to being closer to a bathroom, assigning heavy lifting to someone else or even installing a ramp because of a wheelchair.  The agreement has to be "reasonable". What is reasonable depends on the situation.

The legal section of this guide provides information about what "reasonable" is. To learn how to negotiate with your employer about the accommodation you need, click here.

Please keep in mind that your needs may change over time. If so, you can renegotiate the accommodations you need.

NOTE: 

  • As noted above, you are not entitled to an accommodation unless your tell your employer about your health condition
  • Keep in mind that explaining an accommodation to co-workers may mean you will have to disclose your condition to them.