To Paul and other list members,
Here's some information and good web sites on the ADA and pre-employment
rights. It reflects what the law says, although what Paul and Sue and
many others experience in real life, is of course not the same.
A number of times in the past, the question of to tell or not to tell
about PD at a job interview was discussed on the list. I had a number of
interviews about 2-3 years ago, and chose not to tell. At the time, with
medication and with optimal timing of when the interview took place, my
symptoms were well hidden, and i didn't believe that at that stage, PD
would interfere with my ability to do the job, and  I did find a job,
which I've been at for 2 years now, and told my co-workers about the PD
about a year ago. My symptoms are  more noticable now, but i still don't
think they interfere with my job. And i think I have built up enough
support that when i do have to request accomodations, they will be
willing to do so. (I hope!)

Of course, if you are requesting job accomodations under ADA, when
applying for a job, you would have to tell about it from the start. And
then there is the big question of whether an employer would choose a
disabled applicant, especially one with a degenerative, non curable
disease like PD, over a non-disabled, equally qualified candidate. The
real world again.

It would be helpful to hear about others' experiences looking for jobs
with PD. Please post to list if you are able to write openly about it  --
be aware though that your posting may be read by anyone on the Internet.
Linda

Here is what the ADA says:
FROM:
ADA questions and answers (Dept. of Justice - Office of Civil Rights)
http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/ada/qandaeng.htm

Below are the sections related to job applicants:

Q. What practices and activities are covered by the employment
nondiscrimination
requirements?

A. The ADA prohibits discrimination in all employment practices,
including job application procedures, hiring, firing, advancement,
compensation, training, and other terms, conditions, and privileges of
employment. It applies to recruitment, advertising, tenure, layoff,
leave, fringe benefits, and all other employment-related activities.

Q. Who is a "qualified individual with a disability?"

A. A qualified individual with a disability is a person who meets
legitimate skill, experience, education, or other requirements of an
employment position that s/he holds or seeks, and who can perform the
essential functions of the position with or without reasonable
accommodation.
Requiring the ability to perform "essential" functions assures that an
individual with a disability will not be considered unqualified simply
because of inability to perform marginal or incidental job functions. If
the individual is qualified to perform essential job functions except for
limitations caused by a disability, the employer must consider whether
the individual could perform these
functions with a reasonable accommodation. If a written job description
has been prepared in advance of advertising or interviewing applicants
for a job, this will be considered as evidence, although not conclusive
evidence, of the essential functions of the job.

Q. Does an employer have to give preference to a qualified applicant with
a disability over other applicants?

A. No. An employer is free to select the most qualified applicant
available and to make decisions based on reasons unrelated to a
disability. For example, suppose two persons apply for a job as a typist
and an essential function of the job is to type 75 words per minute
accurately. One applicant, an individual with a disability, who is
provided with a reasonable accommodation for a
typing test, types 50 words per minute; the other applicant who has no
disability accurately types 75 words per minute. The employer can hire
the applicant with the higher typing speed, if typing speed is needed for
successful performance of the job.


Q. What limitations does the ADA impose on medical examinations and
inquiries about disability?

A. An employer may not ask or require a job applicant to take a medical
examination before making a job offer. It cannot make any pre-employment
inquiry about a disability or the nature or  severity of a disability. An
employer may, however, ask questions about the ability to perform
specific job functions and may, with certain limitations, ask an
individual with a disability to describe or demonstrate how s/he would
perform these functions.

An employer may condition a job offer on the satisfactory result of a
post-offer medical examination or medical inquiry if this is required of
all entering employees in the same job category.
A post-offer examination or inquiry does not have to be job-related and
consistent with business necessity.

However, if an individual is not hired because a post-offer medical
examination or inquiry reveals a disability, the reason(s) for not hiring
must be job-related and consistent with business necessity. The employer
also must show that no reasonable accommodation was available that would
enable
the individual to perform the essential job functions, or that
accommodation would impose an undue hardship. A post-offer medical
examination may disqualify an individual if the employer can demonstrate
that the individual would pose a "direct threat" in the workplace (i.e.,
a significant risk
of substantial harm to the health or safety of the individual or others)
that cannot be eliminated or reduced below the oedirect threatî level
through reasonable accommodation. Such a disqualification is job-related
and consistent with business necessity. A post-offer medical examination
may not disqualify an individual with a disability who is currently able
to perform essential job functions because of speculation that the
disability may cause a risk of future injury.

After a person starts work, a medical examination or inquiry of an
employee must be job-related and consistent with business necessity.
Employers may conduct employee medical examinations where there is
evidence of a job performance or safety problem, examinations required by
other Federal laws, examinations to determine current oefitnessî to
perform a particular job, and
voluntary examinations that are part of employee health programs.

Information from all medical examinations and inquiries must be kept
apart from general personnel files as a separate, confidential medical
record, available only under limited conditions.


Q. When can an employer ask an applicant to "self-identify" as having a
disability?
A. Federal contractors and subcontractors who are covered by the
affirmative action requirements of section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act
of 1973 may invite individuals with disabilities to identify themselves
on a job application form or by other pre-employment inquiry, to satisfy
the section
503 affirmative action requirements. Employers who request such
information must observe section 503 requirements regarding the manner in
which such information is requested and used, and the procedures for
maintaining such information as a separate, confidential record, apart
from regular personnel records.

Another good source for ADA information
http://janweb.icdi.wvu.edu:80/links/adalinks.htm

preemployment screening
http://janweb.icdi.wvu.edu/kinder/pages/pre_employment_screening.html

reasonable accomodation
http://janweb.icdi.wvu.edu/kinder/pages/reasonable_accommodation.html

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