Legal Employment Prospects

[anonymouse]

Hi, I'm new to the forum and to PTSD so please bear with me if this is a question that has been answered elsewhere or anything like that...

I haven't been diagnosed with PTSD but I seem to be suffering from the same symptoms listed for it but am apprehensive about seeing a doctor because of possible discrimination.

I would rather not talk about what caused it but ever since for the last 7 weeks I have not been able to sleep properly, had recurant nightmares (3-4 every night) and can't stop thinking about what happened. I am a student and am having trouble concentrating on my work and it's becoming an increasingly big problem. I am reluctant to seek medical help because I don't want to face possible discrimination. I want to become a university lecturer and am worried that if I were diagnosed that even if I were for fully recover, I would be discriminated against. My question is that if I were able to move past this and not have any thing show up on my employment record and therefore not need to disclose history to an employer, would a history of PTSD on medical records be a problem for employment? Do employers check this? Or do you have to disclose mental health history yourself? A close friend has told me I should seek medical attention as it will help me but I'm not sure... any opinions on this would be helpful.

 

[Resilientbibliophile]

Hello,

You've appropriately outlined the framework of debate to the extent of recognizing that stigma very much exists in relation to PTSD and the various ways individual performance is and may be impaired for being within the clutches of such a dynamic. Pressing further, you rightly suspect some humane, but also some cruel and heartless voices await your discovery as application is made to new challenges and new circumstances. What services and support that might be in place thirty years from now will likely be very different contrasted to that which is afforded in the present day, but such inadequacies and underdevelopment of resources (when encountered) ought not invalidate the effort that might be undertaken to see what's afoot.

Listed in no particular order I've tried to recall and further brainstorm in an attempt to afford you matters to think about. Integrate what you may, discard what doesn't fit.

• Seek a consultation with on-campus psych. resources however constituted, and be ready to pose to whomever you speak to direct questions concerning the professional profile you've thus developed and articulate as clearly as you may concerns rooted in judgment that may be passed. An intake session might last 1.5 to 2.0 hours - typically enough to define the gritty parameters of what is plaguing you and how such is impacting your capacity to work, to concentrate. Please, take that chance to see if there is sufficient awareness and/or talent afoot. The maintenance of your privacy is assured - but please do consult someone with the appropriate background. Though stigma is an undeniable aspect of mental health and mental health care, living the experience and charting the reduction of function and life effectiveness absent professional feedback may just delay a reasoned intervention. People do seek psychiatric care in the modern world, secure both awareness and improved function for so-doing, and give back much to society.

• Though the result of such a web search might just deepen anxiety further, perhaps type in 'mental health', 'stigma', and 'academia' as terms to unearth blogs written by others who've suffered such. Only a tiny percentage of the voices you'll unearth may coherently relate back actionable advice, but all the same the effort would likely be worth it. It is wise to establish an understanding of what potential employers desiring to screen out individuals judged 'high risk hires' rely upon both conceptually and legally. Interview manuals strongly suggest the parameters of hinted dysfunction edging towards the strictly illegal - but of course fall short of advising anything that could be construed as illegal. Between the lines reading will illuminate you as to the parameters of a certain contest, the current state of the art.

• Many a feminist theorist and activist occupying tenured positions in the academy bear trauma legacies they both contain with incredible dignity, and tap to demonstrate rare passion for their work. Networking via email in a discreet manner to those like-impacted might reveal sources of support that you never dreamed possible. Memoirs penned by persons of prominence could be identified, underground support networks tapped, etc. Great work may be generated for the transformation of profound felt loss, suffering, alienation, etc.

• Along with the usual works intended for trauma sufferers that might be purchased in a bookshop, there exist materials intended to be reviewed and employed by institutions to 'deal with' mental illness in the workplace. Find a book catalog or apply yourself to an Internet search and unearth material the institution itself would rely on. Establishing for yourself the outlines of what passes (if such can be suggested) as the best current practice - especially in the hands of non-professionals given to reflexive and unconsciously myopic judgment is really quite important. You, and by extension we, cannot rely on being afforded unexpectedly kind and engaged understanding every time we need to lean upon human resource departments of whatever specification. Bringing yourself up to speed on the likely dimensions of the 'template of understanding + legal exposure' theory and debate is vital. Such study takes time, whereas yes - it all seems so unfair, so cruelly cloak and dagger. The thing is to be well-armed and expectant in relation to how people are 'processed'. Some institutions will be humane when so-relied upon, others not. Evidencing self-awareness and educating yourself concerning likely paths administrators will be called upon to pursue may go far towards confirming your commitment towards evolving to 'a better place' with regards to functioning, and at worst - buy you time.

I'm in this for the long-term, hence it seems only right to telegraph the depth of commitment that might be required if aspects or the totality of your experience are severe. One has to plan for many a contingency in relation to achieving academic and professional excellence within the experience of PTSD, while for so doing, PTSD doesn't have to spell your doom. Kind regards...


M.

 

[circe47]

Anonymouse-

I have the same concerns, for different reasons. What I have found is this. According to privacy rules per HIPPA, medical information is kept strictly confidential and under no circumstances other than court order should they ever be revealed without written authorization of the patient. As for mental health records, rules of disclosure are even stricter......so strict, that even the patient will have a hard time getting them.

The only question I have is if anything shows up in a background check with DOJ. I can't speak for other states, but in California if someone is placed on what is called a 5150 hold (danger to self or others, or incapable of taking care of oneself), they cannot be around, have under their control a firearm for five years.

If this is true, then it seems to me that a 5150 status HAS to be shared with DOJ, otherwise how would a cop or judge ever know if someone wasn't supposed to be around or have under his control a firearm? Theoretically, does this also mean that someone who's had a 5150 can't go to a friend or relative's house if they keep a gun under their mattress?

I wonder these things, because there ARE some employers who do DOJ background checks, and if a person's 5150 status IS visible (but not illness), then it would preclude some people from getting certain jobs.

This is sorta like the Britney Spears thing. She lives in California, and was held on 5150 a few years ago, and her father took up conservatorship of her life. Does this mean that if Brit gets on meds and becomes well enough to work in two years she can't get a job working as a caregiver in a old folks home, or as a cocktail server an Indian Casino, because the DOJ background check reflects her previous 5150 status? Kinda not fair, in my opinion.

 

[cherryblossom]

Please explain your abbreviations, so everyone can understand. HIPPA? DOJ?

 

[circe47]

Sorry, I thought these acronyms were universal, or could at least be Googled. DOJ is Department of Justice and HIPAA is Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act. I Misspelled the acronym for HIPAA- Strangely, I went years thinking it was HIPPA. Anyway, sorry for the assumption that everyone would know what I was referring to.

 

[Sing2me]

I know in my area of the world, by law you are not entitled to disclose your PTSD and employers not allowed to ask.

 

[circe47]

Cherokee-
You are correct for how it is in my corner of the world too. I just wonder what the remedy is for an employee like myself who's former employer was self insured; meaning that said employer reimbursed out of pocket expenses such as co-pays, upon submission of receipt.

Seriously, how could my supervisor NOT know that I had some sort of mental status when I turned in a receipt for $25 co-pays to my PhD? Who goes to a PhD unless they have a mental status......right? I suppose the employer could assume that it might be marriage counseling, or counseling for a family member, but that still gives too much private, personal information that they have no rights too.

I suppose I could have footed the bill myself to avoid disclosure, but I wasn't exactly in the position of affording $125 a whack for once a week therapy.

Seems I would have a case, especially since I was "laid off" upon returning from a medical leave on advice from my therapist.

 

[Hashi]

I am reluctant to seek medical help because I don't want to face possible discrimination. I want to become a university lecturer and am worried that if I were diagnosed that even if I were for fully recover, I would be discriminated against. My question is that if I were able to move past this and not have any thing show up on my employment record and therefore not need to disclose history to an employer, would a history of PTSD on medical records be a problem for employment? Do employers check this? Or do you have to disclose mental health history yourself? A close friend has told me I should seek medical attention as it will help me but I'm not sure... any opinions on this would be helpful.

I'm not going to answer about the potential employment/discrimination question because I think it's much more important that you seek help. If what happened was a few weeks or months ago, you have a better chance of recovering quickly than if you leave it for a long time. You should not have to suffer symptoms like this, and they're unlikely to go away of their own accord.

I strongly recommend you consult someone and get a diagnosis as soon as you can. I have no idea what your diagnosis would be, but at this point one possibility might be "post-traumatic stress" rather than "post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)", or it might be something else - in which case your question about the possible future effect might not be needed. If it is PTSD, then the sooner you get treatment the better.

If you do nothing and leave it for a long time, there's a chance that your future hopes would be difficult for other reasons, including your ability to function and cope. You can't know what might happen in the future. My opinion is that you need to deal with the situation you have now, and doing that is the best way to help your future.

 

[safenow]

I agree with Hashi. She beat me too it.

 

[ptsdmom]

Only one more comment...would you want to work for an employer regardless if they know or not that would not ethically support and respect one with PTS or PTSD?

 

[The Albatross]

Neither of my employers know that I have PTSD. Except an oblique remark once in a while, I endeavor to rise to the occasion(s) as they present themselves.