By: Tyler Balding
The Hidden Problem: When Workers Don’t Realize They’re “Disabled”
Every week, employees across the country face challenges at work- fatigue, anxiety, migraines, chronic back pain, long COVID, or depression, yet these workers never consider that these conditions might qualify as disabilities under federal and state law. They keep working harder, downplaying their symptoms, and sometimes even apologizing for needing flexibility. When an employer later penalizes or terminates them for “attendance issues” or “performance decline,” the employee only learns after the fact they may have been protected all along under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) or its state equivalents.
There is a problem that workers often misunderstand what “disability” actually means. Legally, disability is not a personal failing, nor does it require a visible or severe limitation. The ADA defines disability far more broadly than most people realize. But if an employee never identifies as disabled, never requests an accommodation, and never gives notice, the law’s protections may never come into play.
At Carey & Associates, P.C., we regularly see clients who only learn they were “disabled” after they have already lost their jobs. This article aims to correct that misunderstanding, to show how broad the law truly is, why stigma keeps people silent, and what steps employees can take to assert their rights before their employers can take advantage of those delays.
The Stigma of Disability
Despite three decades of progress under the ADA, the stigma surrounding disability remains deeply ingrained in our culture. For many employees, especially professionals in competitive industries, the label “disabled” feels incompatible with the image they’ve worked hard to maintain. They fear it implies weakness, unreliability, or diminished capacity. Some worry about being passed over for promotions, others about being pitied or micromanaged.
This cultural discomfort with the label can often lead to silence by workers. A project manager with panic disorder may avoid mentioning side effects of medicine they may need to take. A software engineer with Crohn’s disease might not disclose the need for flexible bathroom breaks. An executive experiencing postpartum depression may dismiss it as “just stress.” Even medical professionals, doctors, nurses, and physician assistants, often hide their own mental, emotional and physical status for fear of professional scrutiny. They may worry that disclosure could jeopardize hospital privileges, trigger reporting obligations, or call their clinical judgment into question. Unfortunately, those most trained to recognize and treat health conditions often receive the least compassion when they face their own.
These individuals can likely meet the technical definition of “disabled” under the law, but fear of stigma keeps them from saying so. The reality is that the ADA was designed to destigmatize disability by shifting the focus from what a person can’t do to what they can do with reasonable support. Congress explicitly rejected the old model of “total disability” that required visible impairment. The law’s goal is inclusion, not separation. Yet, stigma lingers because workplaces still reward endurance over honesty. Employees worry that disclosure will change how they’re perceived; managers often receive little training on handling accommodations appropriately.
Recognizing this social dynamic is critical. Refusing the label of “disabled” does not erase the legal status, it only potentially disqualifies someone from benefitting from protections they might otherwise have been able to receive. What matters is whether a condition substantially limits a major life activity, not whether an employee identifies as “disabled”. Accepting this broader definition can empower workers, including those in medicine and other demanding professions, to seek adjustments, like modified schedules, peer support, or short-term leave, that allow them to keep thriving both personally and professionally.
What Counts as a “Disability” Under the Law
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and its 2008 amendments (the ADAAA) define disability in three overlapping ways: (1) an actual impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities; (2) a record of such an impairment, even if it is not currently limiting; or (3) being regarded as having such an impairment, whether or not one exists.
“Major life activities” include a wide range of physical and mental functions; these are basic acts such as walking, sleeping, concentrating, communicating, working, lifting, thinking, and many others. The ADAAA explicitly instructs courts to interpret “substantially limits” broadly in favor of coverage. What this means is that many common and invisible conditions will qualify such as anxiety, depression, ADHD, diabetes, autoimmune disorders, migraines, or recovery from surgery. So do episodic conditions that flare up over time, such as Multiple Sclerosis or long COVID. The focus, as explained by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), should not be on whether the impairment is “severe,” but whether it limits the person’s ability to perform everyday activities compared to most people in the general population.
State laws may provide protections that go even further. For example, in Connecticut, the Connecticut Fair Employment Practices Act (CFEPA) protects employees with any chronic condition or past history of impairment that impacts work. In New York ‘disability’ is defined to include conditions that merely “prevent the normal exercise of a bodily function,” a notably expansive standard. While in California, the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) protects even temporary conditions if they limit major life activities. Together, these statutes make clear: you don’t need to be in a wheelchair, blind, or permanently unable to work to be “disabled.” If your health condition affects your functioning, and especially if your employer knows about it, you are likely entitled to protection.
Notice: A Basic Criteria for Protections
A common myth is that an employee must formally declare, “I have a disability under the ADA.” However, the law recognizes that most employees aren’t lawyers and may not know these terms. Instead, an employee only needs to put the employer on notice that they have a medical condition affecting their ability to perform the job.
For example, telling your supervisor, “I’m having anxiety attacks and might need to work from home once a week” is enough to trigger the employer’s duty to engage in the interactive process. Requesting time off for surgery, treatment, or recovery signals a need for accommodation. Even informal conversations such as emailing HR about a health issue or giving a doctor’s note can count.
Then, once on notice, the employer must initiate a dialogue to determine reasonable accommodations. They can request limited medical documentation, but they cannot ignore or punish the disclosure. When employers fail to respond, or worse, retaliate, they violate the ADA.
What Counts as Disability Discrimination
Disability discrimination takes many forms, both overt and subtle. At its core, it occurs when an employer treats an employee less favorably because of a disability or perceived disability.
Examples Include:
- Refusing to hire or promote an individual after learning of a medical condition.
- Denying a requested accommodation without showing that it causes “undue hardship.”
- Terminating or disciplining an employee for using leave, attending medical appointments, or taking time to recover.
- Creating a hostile environment through jokes, gossip, or persistent questioning about health.
- Retaliating after an employee requests accommodation or files an ADA complaint.
The “regarded as” provision covers even cases where the employer’s assumptions are wrong, such as believing an employee with a past injury is “too fragile” for certain work. Under the ADAAA, no proof of substantial limitation is required in “regarded as” cases, only evidence that the employer took adverse action because of the perceived impairment.
Courts have repeatedly affirmed that timing matters. When adverse actions closely follow a disclosure or accommodation request, the inference of retaliation is strong. As the Second Circuit held in Treglia v. Town of Manlius (2002), close temporal proximity between protected activity and discipline supports a causal connection. Similarly, in Kwan v. Andalex Group LLC (2013), the court confirmed that temporal proximity alone can sustain a retaliation claim at the pleading stage.
The Interactive Process
Once an employee discloses a disability or requests support, the employer must engage in a good faith, interactive process. This means more than a single email, it requires open communication about what accommodations might work.
Reasonable accommodations can include:
- Modified work schedules or remote work options;
- Reallocation of marginal job functions;
- Ergonomic equipment or assistive devices;
- Paid or unpaid leave for medical treatment;
- Adjusted performance metrics or supervision methods.
Employers are not required to provide accommodations that impose undue hardship (significant difficulty or expense). However, they cannot rely on assumptions or convenience. The law expects them to explore options, document the discussion, and propose workable solutions.
When employers skip this process, by unilaterally denying requests, insisting on full-time presence despite medical limits, or ignoring communications, they risk liability. Courts routinely hold that failure to engage in the interactive process is itself evidence of discrimination.
The Emotional Toll of Being Misunderstood
For employees with invisible disabilities, the workplace can become emotionally exhausting. Many spend months overcompensating, staying late, masking symptoms, and trying to prove that nothing is wrong. When their performance inevitably dips, they face criticism or suspicion instead of compassion.
At that moment, the employee realizes too late that silence offered no protection. Without disclosure, there’s no legal record of a disability or request for accommodation. The employer will then be incentivized to frame the issue as one of performance, not discrimination.
Understanding your rights early can prevent that spiral. Speaking up, using medical language, requesting accommodation in writing, and documenting interactions all create a clear timeline for if discrimination later occurs. Attorneys can then connect the dots between notice, retaliation, and adverse action.
How Courts Have Interpreted “Disability” Broadly
When Congress passed the ADA Amendments Act of 2008, it sent a clear message to the courts: the definition of “disability” must be interpreted expansively, not narrowly. Since then, decisions across the country have reinforced that the law’s reach is intentionally broad, covering not only permanent conditions but also temporary or episodic impairments that substantially limit major life activities. This wide recognition is not limited to just the traditionally more liberal court jurisdictions.
Take, for example, the Fourth Circuit’s decision in Summers v. Altarum Institute, (740 F.3d 325, 4th Cir. 2014)). This case involved a plaintiff who suffered severe leg injuries that required months of recovery. Even though his condition was temporary, the court held that the injuries substantially limited his ability to walk and thus met the ADA’s definition of disability. The message was unmistakable: the duration of an impairment does not determine whether it is protected, the impact does.
A similar principle emerged in Gogos v. AMS Mechanical Systems (737 F.3d 1170, 7th Cir. 2014), where a worker experienced intermittent vision loss and spikes in blood pressure. Though the episodes were brief, the court concluded that they limited major life activities such as vision and circulatory function, qualifying him for ADA protection.
In Jacobs v. North Carolina Administrative Office of the Courts (780 F.3d 562, 4th Cir. 2015), the court recognized that social anxiety disorder could substantially limit a person’s ability to interact with others, and therefore anxiety was determined to impact a major life activity under the statute. The decision signaled an important shift: mental and emotional conditions deserve the same level of protection as physical ones, even when invisible.
Together, these rulings illustrate a consistent judicial philosophy: the ADA’s coverage is meant to be inclusive, not restrictive. Courts no longer ask whether someone is “truly disabled” in a colloquial sense. Instead, the inquiry focuses on whether the condition affects the employee’s daily functioning. That threshold is intentionally low, ensuring that workers receive the benefit of the doubt and the full protection Congress intended.
How Carey & Associates, P.C. Can Help
At Carey & Associates, P.C., we know how confusing and isolating these situations can feel. Many of our clients come to us believing they have no case—until we explain how the law actually sees their situation. Our role is to bridge that knowledge gap and hold employers accountable when they misuse ignorance as a defense.
We help clients by:
- Identifying Coverage: Evaluating whether your condition qualifies as a disability under federal or state law.
- Navigating Disclosure: Advising how to notify your employer and request accommodations strategically.
- Documenting Retaliation: Preserving emails, evaluations, and meeting notes that show shifting treatment after disclosure.
- Negotiating or Litigating: Pursuing reinstatement, back pay, compensatory damages, and emotional distress awards where warranted.
- Preventing Future Harm: Requiring employers to adopt written ADA compliance policies and training as part of settlement.
Finally, our employment law attorneys litigate cases under the ADA, CFEPA, FEHA, and New York Human Rights Law, as well as FMLA and retaliation statutes that often overlap. We combine legal precision with compassion for clients navigating health challenges while protecting their livelihoods.
Empowering Yourself Through Knowledge
If you’ve been struggling with a medical condition at work, physical or psychological, don’t assume you must suffer in silence or just tough it out. The law exists precisely to protect employees from being punished for being human. Disability accommodations are not favors; they are rights grounded in federal, state and local statutes.
Understanding those rights allows you to act early, communicate clearly, and protect your career. Whether your issue involves mental health, chronic illness, pregnancy complications, or post-injury recovery, legal protection likely applies. You may be “disabled” under the law and that’s not an insult. It’s a recognition that equality sometimes requires adjustment. The sooner you recognize that truth, the sooner you can take back control of your work life.
Contact Carey & Associates, P.C.
If you believe you have been denied accommodation, retaliated against after disclosing a condition, or terminated due to a health issue, contact Carey & Associates, P.C. for a confidential consultation at infor@capclaw.com or call (203) 255-4150.
Disclaimer: For educational use only, not intended to be legal advice.