EEOC issues guidance on diabetes and the ADA

See this new EEOC publication:“Questions and Answers About Diabetes in the Workplace and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).”

(Thanks to Michael Fox’s Jottings by An Employer’s Lawyer for this)

“This guide explains:

when diabetes is a disability under the ADA;

when an employer may ask an applicant or employee questions about her diabetes;

what types of reasonable accommodations employees with diabetes may need; and

how an employer should handle safety concerns about applicants and employees with diabetes.”

“The reality is that, because many individuals with diabetes work with few or no restrictions, their employers do not know that they have diabetes. Some employees, however, tell their employers that they have diabetes because they need a ‘reasonable accommodation.’ . . . Most of the accommodations requested by employees with diabetes such as regular work schedules, meal breaks, a place to test their blood sugar levels, or a rest area do not cost employers anything to provide.”

Conclusion: “Although not everyone who has diabetes has a disability as defined by the ADA, it is in the employer’s best interest to try to work with employees who have diabetes, or are at risk for the disease, to help improve productivity, decrease absenteeism, and generally promote healthier lifestyles. Employers also should avoid policies or practices that categorically exclude people with diabetes from certain jobs and, instead, should assess each applicant’s and employee’s ability to perform a particular job with or without reasonable accommodation.”

Worth reading. Diabetes may or may not be an ADA disability in a given case, but I’d prefer that my client not have to go to court to find out. Typically, accomodations are not that tricky, if needed at all. But in some jobs, with some individuals, safety concerns may be legitimate.

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