Know Your Legal Rights: ADA, FMLA, and Privacy
The ADA and Accommodations
Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), a reasonable accommodation is a change to your workspace, your schedule, or how your job is normally done. It helps an employee with a disability perform their job and access the same workplace opportunities as others.
The ADA’s workplace protections require employers with 15 or more employees to provide reasonable accommodations unless doing so would cause significant difficulty or expense, known as an undue hardship. State or local laws may protect employees at smaller workplaces.
The ADA also covers episodic conditions, meaning conditions with symptoms that come and go. These may qualify as a disability if they substantially limit a major life activity, such as walking, breathing, or working, when symptoms occur. HAE may meet this standard, though whether it qualifies as a disability depends on how the condition limits you during an attack.
For someone with HAE, the impact on the ability to work depends on where the swelling occurs, says Evelyn Konsur, MD, an allergist and immunologist at Endeavor Health in Glenview, Illinois.
For example, she notes:
- Swelling in your hands, arms, feet, or legs may make typing, standing, walking, or completing physical tasks difficult.
- An abdominal attack can cause severe pain, nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea, which may require you to stop working temporarily.
- Facial swelling can make speaking or interacting with others uncomfortable. Throat swelling can block your airway and requires emergency care.
If you qualify for ADA protection, accommodations should address how HAE affects your job. Dr. Konsur says possible accommodations may include:
- Flexible hours or remote work during and after an attack
- Flexibility to use sick leave for attacks, recovery, and medical appointments
- Permission to keep on-demand medication nearby and the ability to access it quickly when needed
- A private, clean place to administer medication and rest during an attack
- Changes that reduce avoidable known workplace triggers
The exact accommodation you request isn’t guaranteed. Your employer may suggest a different option, as long as it effectively meets your needs.
Intermittent FMLA Leave
Instead of adjusting how or where you work, the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) protects your job while you take time off for family and medical reasons. This means you can take medical leave without risking your position at work, and HAE may qualify as a chronic serious health condition under FMLA.
With FMLA, you can take up to 12 weeks of job-protected leave, although that time is usually unpaid. But you don’t have to take this time all at once; intermittent leave lets you take time off in shorter periods when needed.
Intermittent leave for HAE may allow you to temporarily work fewer hours. It may also cover time off during an attack, recovery, or treatment appointments.
You generally qualify for FMLA if you:
- Have worked for your employer for at least 12 months
- Have worked at least 1,250 hours during the previous 12 months
- Work at a location where your employer has at least 50 employees within 75 miles
Your employer may ask your healthcare provider to explain why you need medical leave and how often you may need it.
Protect Your Privacy: What You Do (and Don’t) Have to Share
Discussing your health at work may be the last thing you want to do, but you may need to share some information when requesting accommodations or protected medical leave.
The human resources (HR) department may need certain details to review your request and arrange accommodations, but that doesn’t mean you have to give up your privacy, says Heather Willison, NP, a nurse practitioner who works with asthma and allergy patients at Parkview Health in Auburn, Indiana. You don’t have to tell your coworkers about your condition or explain your full medical history to your manager, she notes.
Employers must keep medical information for ADA accommodations or FMLA leave confidential. HR may give your manager the information needed to carry out an approved accommodation, such as a schedule change or work restriction, but they must keep medical details private.
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