Should Job Hunters Reveal Chronic Illness? The Pros and Cons

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Should Job Hunters Reveal Chronic Illness?

The Pros and Cons

January 13, 2004

By JOANN S. LUBLIN

Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

Graphic artist Hall hid her stiff and swollen fingers during job

interviews last spring with Kaestle Boos Associates, an architectural firm

in New Britain, Conn.

The firm hired Ms. Hall without knowing that she has had scleroderma since

2000. The chronic connective-tissue disease typically kills patients within

10 years. If she had divulged her disorder before she joined, " the safer

route would have been to hire someone else, " says , her

supervisor. But, she adds, " I'm glad I didn't. "

To tell or not to tell is a complex question that job hunters with a chronic

illness must confront. Thanks to improved treatments, many of the 125

million Americans with a chronic condition hold jobs or seek work. Federal

disability law bars most employers from asking about an applicant's

ailments. However, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that a company may

refuse to hire a prospect whose medical condition might be worsened by a

particular job.

Individuals with a potentially debilitating though unobvious chronic illness

often keep silent about their condition during their job search. " If you

disclose beforehand, employers can find a million other reasons not to hire

you, " warns Darren Flomberg, a career coach and rehabilitation counselor for

the Five O'Clock Club, a career-counseling network in New York.

Ms. Hall agrees that favoritism toward healthy candidates " is a fact of

life. " So in applying to Kaestle Boos, the 34-year-old artist decided " to

play off my ability, my experience and my background. "

But covering up her disease deeply disturbed Ms. Hall. " I didn't want to

lie, " she explains. A week after she started work, the probationary staffer

felt comfortable enough to tell Ms. and other colleagues about her

scleroderma. " I said, 'I want no special treatment. I may have a bad day

once in a while.' " She promised to make up work missed due to her medical

appointments.

Some bosses would feel betrayed by a new hire's deceptive behavior. Ms.

reacted differently. " My concern was, 'Can she do the job?' " the

marketing manager recalls. Her qualms soon dissipated. Ms. Hall demonstrated

she's very talented and thrives under pressure. " It's nice and calming when

things start to go crazy and says, 'We'll figure it out,' " Ms.

says.

Chronic-illness coach lind Joffe makes an equally convincing case for

pre-employment disclosure. Ms. Joffe, diagnosed with multiple sclerosis 25

years ago, has divulged her disease in advance of landing spots as a teacher

and a mediator. " More people should consider [disclosure] as an option

because there are real upsides, " the Newton, Mass., coach contends.

Ms. Joffe urges clients to bring up their chronic condition while

negotiating an offer. Then, both sides " know what's on the table. You're

more likely to walk into a situation that's more flexible, " she says. You

don't have to provide many details about your symptoms, she continues. " Say,

'I have a chronic illness and this is how it affects me.' "

Bring up your chronic illness during the recruitment process " if there's

more than a 10% chance of there being a problem during your employment, "

concurs New York executive coach Dee Soder. Explain what you've done to

reduce the chances of a flare-up, she suggests. Hiring managers appreciate

" that you're taking the unpredictability out of it. "

Heeding such advice, 22-year-old Daly revealed her mild multiple

sclerosis after a Massachusetts museum offered her an historical

interpreter's post last spring. The museum wanted the fresh college graduate

to wear a wool costume and mainly work outside. She knew she might tire

easily doing so on hot days. Officials agreed that she could work largely

indoors or take a different outdoor assignment that didn't require a

costume.

The Boston-area resident, who had begun job hunting in January, spurned the

offer because she disliked the prospect of an 80-mile roundtrip commute. She

later cited her illness in cover letters to employers that serve the

disabled or promote their interest in diverse candidates. That gambit hasn't

paid off yet.

The accomplished young singer is now debating whether she should disclose

her disease during a second round of job interviews with a Boston music

organization this month. " You don't want to be sneaky, " she says. But

" everybody has something that employers will find out with time. And I don't

have a visible disability. "

A New Jersey newspaper reporter informed management about her ulcerative

colitis before she accepted her current spot in September 2002. Her upfront

frankness paid off when she needed a weeklong hospital treatment last month

for the chronic colon inflammation. Higher-ups " were all incredibly

supportive, [with] no questions asked, " remembers the 28-year-old

journalist. " If employers feel like they've been duped, they have much less

reason to be supportive about your missing work. "

In the final analysis, chronically ill applicants must carefully weigh the

pluses and minuses of exposing their malady sooner rather than later. As Ms.

Joffe notes: " There's no right or wrong. "

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