Employment Issues and Rights

During college, you may have had jobs, internships or other opportunities to enhance your career, or help you earn a living. If you are officially starting a full time job, this can be an exciting time for you! Most individuals with IBD can work; however, some patients find they struggle to manage IBD and their job. Keep in mind there are a few federal and state laws that protect people with IBD, and require employers to implement accommodations to help you manage work and IBD.

What are workplace accommodations?

A reasonable accommodation is considered any modification or adjustment to a job or work environment that enables a qualified person with a disability to apply for or perform a job. The term also refers to changes made that ensure a qualified individual with a disability has rights and opportunities in employment equal to those employees without disabilities. Most accommodations are low cost and provide considerable direct and indirect benefits to both the employer and employee. Reasonable accommodations may be requested via written request, email or oral communication. Here are a few tips to think about when discussing accommodation needs with your employer:

  • Consider reaching out to the Human Resources department, or to your manager for company specific guidelines
  • Prepare sufficient medical documentation to show that the request for accommodation is supported by medical evidence
  • If an employer inquires about medical information it must be directly related to the requested accommodation and all health information should be kept confidential

For more information on accommodations in the workplace, read ourĀ Employment Issues factsheet.