Do you need to tell a prospective employer you had cancer? Simply put, if it does not affect your job
performance, you are not required to tell a prospective employer about your cancer when applying for employment. At
Livestrong's
SurvivorCare, some common reasons cancer survivors experience employment discrimination include:
- Employers sometimes have incorrect assumptions about what cancer survivors can or cannot do.
- Survivors
sometimes need to leave town for treatment.
- Employers are often uncertain about the time requirements
needed for cancer treatment or follow-up appointments.
- Employers sometimes fear their insurance costs will
go up.
- Survivors may need to change how they perform their job.
- Employers sometimes
incorrectly view cancer as a death sentence and are worried that survivors may not be able to perform their job duties.
Two federal laws, the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Family and Medical Leave Act, protect cancer
survivors from employment discrimination.
Livestrong's
SurvivorCare offers an excellent overview of the issues of employment for cancer survivors. For detailed information
and technical assistance about the Americans with Disabilities Act, please visit the
ADA website. Cancer survivors have enough concerns without the
additional worry they will be discriminated against, or prevented from, earning a living because of cancer.
