I have debated disclosing this on applications.

32 Comments

1. AnonymousOctober 9,2023 at 3:57PM UTC

   I answer affirmatively to the question of whether I have a disability. It never asks specifically what my disability is, but I always answer affirmatively. And I assume you are referring to the disability disclosure.

2. Joan Williams, Senior Talent Acquisition SpecialistOctober 10,2023 at 5:11PM UTC

   Yes, I was referring to the disability disclosure but I do not see any of that confidential information.

3. Joan Williams, Senior Talent Acquisition SpecialistOctober 9,2023 at 4:26PM UTC

   How you answer is up to you but know, as a recruiter, I do not see that information.

4. AnonymousOctober 9,2023 at 5:56PM UTC

   Do you require special accommodations for your disability? If so, I would definitely mention it. That way everyone is alerted to your needs.

5. Sue Gordon- retired Career CoachOctober 10,2023 at 1:33AM UTC

   No,do not disclose in the application. Disclose at the time of the offer, and only if you require reasonable accommodations.

   By the time of the offer, they want you. They know you. They don't want to restart the search. And it would look really bad to rescind the offer.

   Before they know you, all they may see an expense to their medical insurance and potential need for sick leave. So you'll be screened out before they even get to see how amazing you are. It's harder to prove discrimination when you are one of many rejected applications.

   Tell them only when you need to. If you tell them and they rescind an offer or fire you, they will be in clear violation of the ADA (assuming there are reasonable accommodations, which seems likely in this case).

   Good luck.

6. Sue Gordon- retired Career CoachOctober 10,2023 at 1:36AM UTC

   One caveat- there are programs (federal and federal contractors) that specifically need to recruit people with disabilities- in that case, it could be a positive.

   And I may have misunderstood the question- if you are referring to answering questions on an application, then it's a data point and you need to be honest. As Joan said, the hiring manager shouldn't see this.

   My thoughts regarded cover letters or resumes. And you never have to disclose your diagnosis. Just that you have a disability that requires special accommodations.

7. Joan Williams, Senior Talent Acquisition SpecialistOctober 10,2023 at 7:02AM UTC

   Please cite a legitimate source for this advice you've provided.

   Is this the way the organizations you've worked in handle confidential information such as this?

   Also, you're a "career counselor & coach" and you're advising job seekers to lie on their application?

   You do know that an application can become a binding legal document, right?

8. Joan Williams, Senior Talent Acquisition SpecialistOctober 10,2023 at 7:12AM UTC

   Also - "If you tell them and they rescind an offer or fire you, they will be in clear violation of the ADA (assuming there are reasonable accommodations, which seems likely in this case). "

   If you lie on your application and then disclose this information, they would have cause to fire you or rescind your offer. For lying on your application.

9. AnonymousOctober 10,2023 at 3:00PM UTC

   Joan, the disability questions are optional, as they are not required on the application per ADA. Rather than NO, it would be better to state "choose not to answer, or however it is worded. That would be the more accurate answer, but it still leaves the impression that there is a disability you don't want to talk about. I agree with your other statement that it is never a good thing to lie on an application, and I have had an issue with the disability question for the "choose not to answer" option. It gives me the impression that only the No's will get put through, even though that is not legally allowed. Some applications do not let you go any further unless you select one of the options, so that is the crux of the problem.

   My husband is disabled and walks with a limp, and I know he gets rejected often when he walks through the door as a "workmen's comp issue waiting to happen." When he walked with a cane, they also saw it as him carrying a weapon.

10. Joan Williams, Senior Talent Acquisition SpecialistOctober 10,2023 at 5:09PM UTC

    Yes, they are optional. You can choose the "choose not to disclose" option. That's different that trying to trick a company into hiring you as the other poster suggested.

    How your husband was treated was wrong wrong wrong.

    But in all my years as a recruiter, I have never seen any of that confidential information. It never even crossed by my to attempt to see it if I even could. It is not looked at by recruiters or hiring managers. It is aggregated and reported to the government for EEOC purposes.

    This is not and has never been a factor in any of the interviewing and/or hiring of myself or any recruiter I know or network with. It just isn't.

11. AnonymousOctober 10,2023 at 7:41PM UTC

    It's good to know that this information is not disseminated to the hiring team or the recruiters, as that has been my concern. If it's in the system, and they want to see it, I'm sure they can find a way to get to it. Some people can be that unscrupulous.

12. Joan Williams, Senior Talent Acquisition SpecialistOctober 10,2023 at 9:21PM UTC

    I work in a global company of over 66,000 employees. The medical issues of one employee is of zero concern to the recruiter or the hiring manager. Besides the fact that it would be illegal and discriminatory, no one cares about a candidate's personal medical issues. It's just not an issue.

13. AnonymousOctober 10,2023 at 3:03PM UTC

    Not necessarily. They can easily slink out of that by saying they are having a restructuring of the department.

14. AnonymousOctober 10,2023 at 9:02AM UTC

    Volunteer nothing about your health unless ABSOLUTELY necessary. Ditto: personal life

15. AnonymousOctober 10,2023 at 2:08PM UTC

    No, do not disclose it.

16. Maggie StoneOctober 10,2023 at 2:16PM UTC

    Agree with everyone saying don’t disclose unless necessary or will interfere with job duties. Also, don’t share with coworkers. I shared something in confidence with a coworker that she shared with management. Figured this out when I got an email from hr about qualifying for a disability.

17. AnonymousOctober 11,2023 at 1:07AM UTC

    I disclosed I was in radiation to a female colleague: recent breast cancer.

    I was fired. (She wanted my job and used this against me)

    I made up my long lunches and did my work.

    Getting laid off worked out because because I qualified for Medicaid based on my income and breast cancer treatment for 5 years. Plus escaped toxicity and no Cobra during pandemic

    Looking for work was stressful though

    I was lucky. Say NOTHING to no one unless you are prone to seizures or diabetic episodes that might need monitoring more than the average person

18. AnonymousOctober 10,2023 at 2:45PM UTC

    Do not disclose unless it will require you to request accommodations. This depends on whether you need to take frequent breaks, have food readily available, etc., as some work environments do not allow food in work areas (safety/contamination issues). It also depends on how frequently you inject or test, as sharps disposal can become an issue. For most office environments, this should not be a problem. However, they can be issues in places like warehouses and labs. Retail jobs can get hinky with food eaten in areas where merchandise is and frown on breaks outside the scheduled ones, so those might be areas where disclosure is necessary.

19. AnonymousOctober 10,2023 at 10:22PM UTC

    I am diabetic and I answer it if it specifically asks anonymously on an application (that federal government form) and I have disclosed when I worked in an office because that was pre-insulin pump (for me) and I didn't want tongues wagging about needles they saw me carrying around. But these days, I only tell a close coworker and my immediate boss and make sure it is disclosed on any emergency form HR sends me. All of this is well after hire.

20. Joan Williams, Senior Talent Acquisition SpecialistOctober 11,2023 at 12:35AM UTC

    FYI:

    "Do You Have a Disability" -- Why You Should Click YES"

    https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/do-you-have-disability-why-should-click-yes-jan-johnston-tyler-ma/

    By answering, you're contributing to data that can help fight discrimination against those with disabilities.

    Recruiters and/or hiring managers do not see this information. Is it compiled and shared with federal agencies. Not once in over 20 years recruiting experience has it even occurred to me to try to find out this information.

21. JessOctober 11,2023 at 12:31PM UTC

    It depends on where the question is. If it is via linked in or indeed, I answer. If the organization itself asks me, I don’t answer. BECAUSE companies have discriminated against me because of it.

    When it is mentioned in the interview, I walk out. I don’t want to work for a company that cares so little about disabilities.

22. AnonymousOctober 11,2023 at 1:13PM UTC

    I would think it falls under the type of questions that would ask something like would you need any accommodations in order to perform this job, etc. There are questions like that n some applications. Even some disabilities protection questions. I would have thought this would be more of the norm these days, guess not.

23. AnonymousOctober 11,2023 at 1:29PM UTC

    never, its just an application

24. EMILY KIKUE FRANKOctober 11,2023 at 3:46PM UTC

    As a rule, demographic information in an application is kept separate from your personal info, so it won't track back to you. What employers are looking for is proof that their pool of applicants is diverse enough to proceed. So whether to disclose or not is up to you but the info is unlikely to harm you in the application process. If you do need some form of accommodation, that discussion comes much further down the line, when you have accepted the position. In that case, you will schedule a discussion with HR and talk about the accommodations you need. You can ask they to keep the info confidential, if you prefer.

25. Krystin MorganOctober 11,2023 at 4:17PM UTC

    It doesn't really matter; typically no one can actually see how you answer those questions. It's aggregated data for reporting purposes (whether to the government or just so the company can understand the diversity of their applicant population). It's totally up to you if you want to disclose or not.

26. AnonymousOctober 11,2023 at 4:43PM UTC

    Question - why would you disclose you're diabetic unless it prevents you from doing the responsibilities of the job? Are you indicating it to report for special assistance with the role? Otherwise, I never disclose my disabilities so why should you?

27. Gessica Briggs-SullivanOctober 11,2023 at 9:43PM UTC

    I'm type 1 diabetic. I usually wait until I've accepted the job and then send a note to my leader/team about myself including that I am diabetic. (I'm an above target performer but you never know when somethings going to happen with diabetes. )

28. Ashley SmithOctober 11,2023 at 10:12PM UTC

    I agree with Gessica. Disclose once you’ve been hired. But tell the person you’re working with what to do, who to call if you have an episode. We have a new hire who I’ve been training. Her second day she gave me all the 411 on what to do, where she keeps her medicine, candy and her husbands number. I’m grateful she did. I would have no idea where to begin if she hadn’t explained everything to me. Could you imagine if something were to happen and we had no idea she was diabetic.

29. Anne Marie HOctober 12,2023 at 12:20PM UTC

    And for that exact reason (never knowing how an employer might use it), I would not indicate your diabetic status. If you need special accommodation, you're only obliged to let them know after you've received an offer letter & accepted.

30. AnonymousOctober 12,2023 at 12:37PM UTC

    My husband is type 1 diabetic. He never discloses it to employers but nor does he hide it (he uses a pump). It doesn't interfere with his job duties. He doesn't need any accommodations to do the job because he's diabetic. I would not disclose it to a potential employer and would only disclose it to them if hired if I felt it was info they needed to know.

31. Orlagh CostelloOctober 12,2023 at 1:21PM UTC

    No need, unless you need specific accommodations for your role. I'm type 2, diagnosed earlier this year, told my boss cos the meds were having an awful affect on me and he thought I was losing my mind at one point. But it's not causing any hassle.

32. AnonymousOctober 13,2023 at 12:42PM UTC

    In the US applications can not contain questions that are illegal to ask. There is no need to disclose this to a company. doing so may actually hurt your chances for an interview or hiring decision. Face a lot of interviewers adn those who make hiring decisions don't want to deal with drama/conflict/something that makes them uncomfortable. If you mention your condition could make them assume you will miss a lot of work, you can't work extra hours, you will be at the doctor's office every week, frequent call offs. Every person has unconscious bias, and it will rear its head if you start talking about medical conditions in your application. I know a lot of places have those extra forms for you to fill out asking some gender, ethnic questions - not sure what all they ask any more. Those are separate from an application, and they don't contain a spot for your name. They are collected so the company can provide statsical info to the government.