Hi Rebound -

I have battled this argument for a VERY long time myself... There were so many GOOD jobs that I lost bcuz of this dang disease... I'll share w/you my thoughts/experiences about telling the boss as well as work in general...

First, an employer has to make REASONABLE accomodations for a disability pursuant to ADA... Now this is a VERY gray area - especially when it comes to mental health... I've made the mistake of telling a boss and I've also made the best choice in telling a boss. As far as ADA goes, this protects you from getting fired due to a disability as well as forces an employer - willing or unwilling - to accomodate your Dr's orders. For example, none of mine want me to work at all and in fact have pushed for me to file for SSA for years... So I've gone from job to job and I used to tell them eveyrthing - that way, I would be 'protected' (or so I thought) from getting fired as well as being allowed to have, e.g., time off as needed. Well, there's a nice little loop-hole that is in this wonderful system. FMLA (Family/Medical Leave Act) provides you with up to 12 weeks off, un-paid (unless employer has a paid-time-off plan), whether it be three days in a row, one day a week, etc., ONLY once you have reached 1250 worked hours and ONE year of service... Tell one of us who suffer from BP to reach that goal and we ALL know what it does...

Anyway, the job I had for years finally took its toll on me... I started having even more attendance problems, a boss who understood my disease/disorders, and said I have to utilize FMLA otherwise I would start getting disciplinary action. In this case, the law worked in my favour. Whenever i couldn't work, I utilized an FMLA "day" or however long it took. Due to relapsing, I ended up exhausting those 12 weeks, or 90 days, VERY quickly.. Next thing I know, I got fired for attendance problems. Despite ALL the medical docs and ADA out there, once you've exhausted FMLA, you're subject to anything. Even me going on disability (THROUGH the employer), so I coudl be paid, resulted in me being fired bcuz I went over that limit. I took them to court, lost, and haven't been able to hold a job longer than 2 months since... This was back in 1998...

Telling the boss may have negative impacts - even if he/she is receptive for the reasons you stated. You are SO right that it is hard enough to get our families - those who are SUPPOSED to love us unconditionally - to understand and help us, yet alone an employer. So there is really no concrete answer here my friend. It's a call you have to make, based upon the relationship w/your boss, if you want to disclose your BP. Ever since my nightmare, I have NEVER EVER told an employer again - except for the one-before-last - and that is bcuz he had BP himself.

I thought I could trust him; however given the nature of the disease, he went into a manic episode, ended up getting into a fight with me (not physical), and we both ended up getting fired.... I confided in him, he confided in me, and we truly helped each other for a while as best as we could.. Lesson learned, this disease does NOT let one think/do as those 'normal' people... I use that term VERY lightly by the way...

So as a suggestion, and bear in mind it is just that, is that you do NOT give them anything to 'get on you' about. There will NEVER be another employer who knows about me; they will only know I have a physical and psychological conditions that MAY require accomodations at some point. It is furthermore NONE of their business - if they pry for information, tell him/her that the specifics are none of their business as your medical history is your business only. Tell them as little s possible, explaining your right to privacy, and if they are animate on extracting information out of you, take it to the HR's. That is what they are there for and are required to ALSO keep anything about you under lock & key. This way, should someone start talking about you and/or you find that your buisness is now the subject of office politics, you know where that came from...

I DO hope I have helped somewhat or at least give ou insight as to how you could proceed with this. Please do not interpret my circumstances as gospel for yours; we are ALL differnet, yet equal due to this particular disorder, and we all have to 'do what we have to do' in order to protect ourselves. That is FAR more important than disclosig personal and VERY private information.

If I may ask, why are you contemplating telling him/her anyway? Are you experiencing bad PA's at work or are you at risk of being fired? Also, do NOT just quit - you will lost unemployment benefits... Let them fire you - bcuz if you get fired for attendance, and you back that up w/medical documentation should the employer challenge it, you WILL prevail and receive your unemployment benefis. I NEVER quit - I always let them fire me and to date, there has never been ONE unemployment case lost bcuz of my disorders - whether I told the boss or not. You do, however, MUST ensure that the HR dept. knows you have a medical condition(s) so that way when you do get fired, they can't say "well, we didn't know"... Otherwise, this gives them an upper hand and may result in unemployment being denied. At least HR's are always separate from the every-day-people, so ensure you have something in your records indicating JUST your conditions - nothing more, nothing less...

Agin, I hope this helps somewhat and I apologize in advance for being sporadic... I'm sure you know how this goes!!! Take it easy and hope to hear from you soon... ~Niko