Am I obligated to tell an employer I'm disabled?

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I did not know I was a High Functioning Autistic until I was 47. Since being diagnosed I know have been referred to an Alabama Department for the handicapped. I have worked in retail for over 10 years and did not know, thus didn't tell.

My current boss has commented about how quiet I am and has said that those are the kind of people who come in one day and shoot up the place, or they come in with a blonde on their shoulder. I have thought I might tell him about my diagnoses some time when I happen to be working alone with him one day. It doesn't seem like I necessarily need to tell, unless I seek advancement in the company -- to let them know my strengths and weaknesses.

My spectrum may have been a strong reason why I did not succeed in the careers I have pursued, Journalism, Commercial Photography, then Web Design. I have been perplexed as to why I had a high education but was stuck working a low level job. I hope the assistance I will get will change that. Those employers will doubtless know.

I also know why my love life always stunk, but now that I know I might be able to do better and walk in one day with a brunette. I prefer them.

What was the problem with web design? I am studying that now.

Photography could be a problem, I suppose, if you are working at a Walmart photo studio and the customers get weirded out.

But, if you're just designing web pages by yourself, what could be the problem?

The problem I have with web design is that there are too many people out there doing it. If you look up web design in Career builder you see maybe one web design and ten web development listings.

It's hard to know exactly where to look, and every big business already has people, and when they do hire, they want people with at least two years experience.

I've joined professional organizations, but they are loner geeks who don't talk much, and of course being aspie I am not good at networking.

I went around doing cold calls at small businesses. You might guess I am terrible at that. I also found that most small businesses didn't even bother to advertise and had no interest in a web site, and were technological nincompoops. Or they had a nephew who already made their site. I'd look it it and it was usually, "Web site under construction." Brilliant. Everybody and his brother, or sister, is a web designer.

I've done work for some nonprofits to get a portfolio but that hasn't helped. I have made a site for a framing shop lady who wanted a site but couldn't afford it. I have a basic site, but she has been too busy to get the info and graphics needed for expanding it.

I might stop mentioning I do web sites at social gatherings cause the person always says they might need something, takes a card then it doesn't pan out.

Also there are more ways to get a presence on the web these days, like MySpace and FaceBook, and sites that list local businesses. You can even buy web design software at Best Buy. And there are online resources like Smugmug where you can pay a monthly fee and set up a site.

Maybe things are different where you live. Here are some things I have learned though. What they are teaching you in school is already outdated. Upon graduation you will need to jump in and start updating your skills. Lynda.com is a good source

Dynamic web sites are the thing. There seems to be less and less need for design only. It is very difficult to practice dynamic development at home. Server and connection issues are horrendous. You either need a lot of support from friends in networking, and hardware, or you have to be smarter than I am. Dynamic development is best learned at school.

Photography had nothing to do with Walmart (except as low end job). It involves assisting photographers who do work for advertising agency's and eventually doing work yourself. That's another story.

So anyway, this has actually become relevant again.

I got the job. I didn't disclose any disability before being hired. My employer found out about my disability and began cutting my hours because of it. This was, actually, back when I originally posted. I knew that my hours were being cut, but I didn't know why until just this week.

The disability isn't autism related. They don't know about that. I thought about mentioning having AS since there's a lot of focus on how I'm not into the whole "watercooler" thing (I just do my job and keep to myself and that's perceived as a bad thing), but I don't need to give people more of a reason to resent me.

They're still insisting that they should have been informed. What I would like is some kind of evidence, I guess, that I don't have to inform them of anything. Is there a statute/law/something like that which I can quote from?

What's going on is that I'm getting screwed over, and my employer is trying to make it look like everything is my fault. If I'm fired for this, I do intend to pursue it to the fullest extent of the law, at least to set precedent for the other people who may work for this place in the future, but I want to make sure I can in the first place.

The state is Pennsylvania, I'm not requesting accommodations (at least as far as I know... I may be accused of it), and there isn't any promotion potential in this job. I do it as a hobby, but I really resent dealing with some b***h who needs to be put in her place.

http://www.dol.gov/odep/pubs/fact/laws.htm

Whoo hoo! Thanks, Nan.

Wait... if a place employs fewer than 15 people (which is the case here), then they're allowed to be total as*holes and even say "Sorry. You're in a wheelchair/blind/deaf, therefore, I'm not hiring you even though you can do the job."?

I work for a place which employs fewer than 15 people. I don't think I have a case.

Sorry. Do they get any federal funding at all?? IF you can prove you are being terminated for bogus reasons, you could go to court and claim damages (depending on your state) for unfair termination. Unless you are in a "right to work" state, where you basically are there at the pleasure of the employer - who can drop you like a hot rock if and when s/he feels like doing so, and you have no recourse.

The Federal government doesn't constrain you in that case; there my be state law. There's a lot of red tape involved in meeting federal rules, and it would strangle most small businesses even if they met all the rules, so a lot of the rules only apply to larger businesses.

That said, if you're only doing it as a hobby, and if they are being unreasonable, why fight it? It doesn't sound like they are the kind of people you want to work with anyway. Find a place that values workers who get the work done over workers who spend their time sucking up to the boss.

They're a non-profit. If they get grant money from a federal source, does that count as federal funding?

Maybe I should just throw in the towel. I know I'm going to get fired. I like having a place to be, but I guess that's going to be taken from me.

You should not tell your employer you are disabled. It's true that they can't legally terminate you for having a disorder and they probably won't if you've already been hired. But it will create tension with your colleagues and they will look at you as being inferior and a potential problem. Think about all of the negative stereotypes in the news of people with mental illnesses that lose it and shoot up their coworkers. Yes, that is the impression you will make.
Especially do not mention it at a job interview.

Do they get more than $10,000?

You need to be speaking with an employment lawyer. Your state may have regulations that are different than the fed ones that you can use in your favor. (California labor law is better than the feds, Texas labor law is abysmal, don't know about many others, sorry!)