Disability Rating (sc)...do You Have To Disclose To Employer?

[MDB1968NM]

Hi everyone,

If this is not the right area then Mods please move this.

If someone is applying for a job after military retirement and they are disabled (SC), does that have to be disclosed to the employer?  The reason I ask is that many govt jobs ask if you are applying for preference.  Would the employer need to know what your disabilities are, OR, would they just have to know your rating percentage if that?

I would think that some employers might hold having a disability against the potential job seeker in certain instances.  Has anyone had any direct experience with this?

Thanks for the information in advance!

;)

[john999]

Try to get a job with USPS if you have a bad back. They are going to want to know about you SC disability. They asked me if I could work 12 hours a day on my feet. How many with a bad back could do that? Also you have to be able to lift 70 pounds. If you are rated 30% for a back problem they want to know the details before they hire you. They do deny employment to people based on their disabilies, but not on their ratings. Disability discrimination is rampant in and out of government. Government may hire disabled but then they start process of firing them.

[LarryJ]

MDB1968NMPosted Today, 09:50 PM Hi everyone,

It depends on the type of job you are applying for. Some government agencies and private companies need to know if you need some type of special accommodations to help you with the job. Examples: special chair, keyboard, small quiet room or something. You can always try to research the agency or company to find out if they have a policy for disabled persons. Also on any federal form make sure you tell the truth and try to be honest as possible.

Yer kiddin' me! Small, quite room!

HEY? Where's this job been all my life?

Heck, I'm "ready to re-join the workforce"......................................NOT!

[LarryJ]

I developed three significant disabilities by the time I was 28 years old. I went to job interviews and discussed my disabilities with the interviewer. I had a college degree and applied for jobs where I was initially screened by interviewers in the personnel department. I went for over a year without being hired for any job. As such, the state of California paid me while I attended special job-search classes for persons with disabilities. I think that even though there are incentives to hire disabled veterans that some employers would rather not deal with any employee with a chronic back problem.

While attending the state-funded job-search classes we were taught to take special care to apply for jobs that would not aggravate a pre-existing disability. We are taught to read job descriptions and discussed job duties during interviews prior to making any statement as to what our disabilities were. We were told that employers only have the right to know about disabilities that will be aggravated by a job or that will prevent you from doing a specific job.

Believe it or not we were taught to hide all disabilities that might be visible to an interviewer in a personnel department. We were taught that these interviewers were trained to identify disabilities without asking questions. We were taught that these interviewers did not higher persons with neck and back injuries even if the doctors didn't think the job would aggravate the pre-existing condition. These employers did not want to hire an employee who might miss work or even later claim the back condition was related to their new job.

We were taught to turn our head before we turned our shoulders so as not to appear to have stiffness in the neck. We were taught to sit and stand normally. We were taught to move freely.

My neck problems have finally gotten to the point where it is difficult for me to type on my computer. I wrote this entire response using a voice to text program. It works pretty good. I just sit back in my chair and talk. I wish I would've found this program about 10 years ago. If I did not find this program I probably would have dropped off of hadit.

Hey, Hoppy, what's the name of the VTT program? It certainly seems to be working well.

[Stretch]

I agree with Hoppy 100%.

I applied for a job as a machinist around 1985 in Torrance Calif. I aced the written test. When I went to the physical exam, the doctor picked up on my back injury immediately just by the way that I was standing. I didn't tell them one word about my back. The doctor sent me to X-ray. I was denied employment with the doctor and HR saying that I couldn't lift over 15 lbs and that I had an old back injury.

I was so upset that I couldn't see straight. It really shocked me that their company examiner could pick-up on this injury so quickly and easily without knowing anything about me. I never worried about Vets preference, because I was very good at my job experience. I just couldn't believe being turned down.

One of my compaints with the VA, after leaving service, was the back injury and constant pain. I thought I had learned to mask the condition pretty well. The VA said that my back was fine, denying my back claims in the 1970's. I wasn't looking for compensation. I went to the VA for help.

It is funny that a real doctor can see injuries, right now. The Vet is left between a rock and a hard place..

I am usually the last one to know these sort of things that can cause a Veteran rejection from work.

[Papa]

Hi everyone,

If this is not the right area then Mods please move this.

If someone is applying for a job after military retirement and they are disabled (SC), does that have to be disclosed to the employer? The reason I ask is that many govt jobs ask if you are applying for preference. Would the employer need to know what your disabilities are, OR, would they just have to know your rating percentage if that?

I would think that some employers might hold having a disability against the potential job seeker in certain instances. Has anyone had any direct experience with this?

Thanks for the information in advance!

B)

Years ago, I applied for a trainee position for the Government. The first thing the interviewer ask me was I a Vietnam Veteran. Told her yes. Are you a disabled Veteran? Yes. Well, we do not need your kind around here <_< . I left in a hurry, as I'm Italian and a Hillbilly and I do have a temper. So what did I do? I went to the Texas Rehab Commission and they actually got me a job in accounting at Ft. Sam Houston under the handicap program, not the disabled verterans program. I got hired in as a GS-4 with a BBA, but I had my foot in the door. There are other ways to beat that dead horse :)

Papa

[MDB1968NM]

Thanks folks!  VERY insightful information....I suppose you are at the luck of the draw with the employer.

Hoppy your VTT program is amazing!  I am glad that you found that!