Lupus and Employment Rights

Lupus is a common illness that affects the immune system and people diagnosed with this type of disease normally have their body’s defense mechanism attack itself through an excess of antibodies in the blood stream resulting in inflammation and damage to muscles, joints, and other organs(Edmonds, 2016). Ideally, under the American with disabilities act (ADA) employers have no rights to ask about an individual’s disability during the job application process. Employers are only allowed to conduct medical exam when there is a safety concern such as the one presented above. When medical tests are conducted none of the medical results gathered can be used to discriminate employee. 

People diagnosed with lupus do not consider themselves as disabled but they are entitled to utmost protection at work under the Equality Act simply because lupus impairments affect people in a way that they fall under the Equality Act’s definition. For this matter, we as employers must adhere to standards set by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) such as Americans with Disabilities Act which prohibits employment discrimination (Bhugra, 2016).

More so, the Equality Act offers anyone categorized as disabled such as Shirley Williams with rights and places several strict duties on us as employers. From this case, it is ideal to work together with Shirley Williams   and identify possible adjustments and relevant support In order to arrive at mutual benefits (Agarwal and Kumar, 2016).The affirmative action herein is to adopt the reasonable adjustments required by the Equality Act so as to allow Williams work without feeling discriminated. Some of the ideal adjustments that can suit her include offering her an adjusted working hours to allow her work flexibly or adjusting her duties. However, before making any decision it becomes ideal to arrange a work professional work assessment with an occupational therapist so as to reach an informed decision.

References

Agarwal, N., & Kumar, V. (2016). Burden of lupus on work: Issues in the employment of individuals with lupus. Work, 55(2), 429-439.

Edmonds, J. O. (2016). Examining outcomes in Americans with disabilities act litigation for persons with mental and physical disabilities. Georgetown University.

Nardodkar, R., Pathare, S., Ventriglio, A., Castaldelli-Maia, J., Javate, K. R., Torales, J., & Bhugra, D. (2016). Legal protection of the right to work and employment for persons with mental health problems: a review of legislation across the world. International Review of Psychiatry, 28(4), 375-384.