Do I have to tell my employer about my medical condition?

When do I have to say something?

• When you want an accommodation or leave. Under the State regulation, the employee “must make the disability and need for accommodation known to the employer” (9 NYCRR 466.11(k)(1)). You do not need a diagnosis to start: describe what you cannot do, or can do only with difficulty, and what would help. See how to ask for a reasonable accommodation.
• When your employer asks for support for a request. You “must cooperate in providing medical or other information that is necessary to verify the existence of the disability or pregnancy-related condition, or that is necessary for consideration of the accommodation” (Exec. Law § 296(3)(d)).
• Otherwise, not at all. Nothing requires you to tell your employer about a condition that does not affect your work and for which you want nothing.

Does my employer have to act if I never asked?

Sometimes. City law applies when the disability “is known or should have been known” (Admin. Code § 8-107(15)(a)), and the duty to talk about an accommodation arises when the employer “has notice” you may need one (§ 8-107(28)(a)). A worker who had repeatedly told her supervisors that her dyslexia made writing copy difficult, without asking for anything in particular, did not need a formal request: the employer’s awareness “triggered a duty to engage” her, “even in the absence of a specific request” (Friedman v Bloomberg, L.P., 230 A.D.3d 1060, 1061 (1st Dep’t 2024), affirming denial of the employer’s summary judgment motion). Under the ADA, an employer must accommodate a disability that is obvious, one it “knew or reasonably should have known” about, even without a request (Brady v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 531 F.3d 127, 135–36 (2d Cir. 2008), affirming a jury verdict for the employee). Relying on this is risky. Being on medical leave is not by itself notice of a disability: a carpenter on a long leave for work injuries, whose employer told him to return to “full duty” with a doctor’s note or be fired, never asked for an accommodation, and lost, because the employer did not know or have reason to know he had a disability rather than a temporary injury (Costabile v. N.Y.C. Health & Hosps. Corp., 951 F.3d 77, 81–83 (2d Cir. 2020), affirming dismissal of his Rehabilitation Act claim). If your employer sends a letter like that, answer it in writing and ask for the accommodation you need. A clear written request is better evidence than an argument that the employer should have known.

What can an employer ask a job applicant?

• Before a job offer, an employer covered by the ADA may not ask whether you have a disability, or about its nature or severity, and may not give you a medical exam. It may ask whether you can perform the job’s functions (42 U.S.C. § 12112(d)(2)).
• After an offer and before you start, it may require a medical exam and make the offer depend on the result, but only if every entering employee in the job gets the same exam, the results are kept in separate confidential medical files, and they are used only as the law allows (§ 12112(d)(3)).
• Under State law, an employer may not make any inquiry about prospective employment that expresses a limitation, specification or discrimination based on disability (Exec. Law § 296(1)(d)). But the Court of Appeals held that the question alone is not enough: “[m]erely establishing that a particular question was asked” does not establish a claim without “some causal consequence or relevant relationship” (Matter of Delta Air Lines v New York State Div. of Human Rights, 91 N.Y.2d 65, 74–75 (1997), affirming a ruling for the employer).

What can my employer ask once I work there?

An employer covered by the ADA may not require a medical exam or ask whether you have a disability, or about its nature or severity, unless the exam or question is “job-related and consistent with business necessity.” It may ask whether you can perform job-related functions, and it may offer voluntary exams as part of an employee health program (42 U.S.C. § 12112(d)(4)(A), (B)).

Once you ask for an accommodation, the employer may ask for the medical information needed to confirm the condition and consider the request (Exec. Law § 296(3)(d); 9 NYCRR 466.11(k)(4)). It should say clearly what it needs (466.11(j)(4)). The City Commission’s guidance says the employer is entitled to documentation of the condition, the limitation and how the accommodation helps, not to your full medical file (NYC Commission on Human Rights, Disability Discrimination Legal Guidance).

What about sick notes?

An employer “may not require the disclosure of confidential information” about your or a family member’s illness as a condition of giving you sick leave or paid prenatal leave (Labor Law § 196-b(5)(a)). In New York City, an employer may ask for documentation only when you are out for more than three consecutive workdays; the note does not have to say what your condition is, and the employer must reimburse any fee your provider charges for it (Admin. Code § 20-914(a)(2)). FMLA leave is different: an employer may ask for a medical certification, and must tell you what it needs (see the FMLA).

Can my employer ask about my family’s medical history or genetic tests?

Generally, no. Under the federal Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA), “genetic information” includes your genetic tests, your family members’ genetic tests, and “the manifestation of a disease or disorder in family members,” in other words your family medical history (42 U.S.C. § 2000ff(4)(A)). An employer covered by Title VII may not “request, require, or purchase” that information, with narrow exceptions, including an inadvertent request, voluntary wellness programs with your written authorization, and family medical history needed for an FMLA certification (§ 2000ff-1(b)). It may not treat you differently because of it (§ 2000ff-1(a)), and any it has must be kept in separate confidential medical files (§ 2000ff-5(a)). New York law goes further for every employer: it forbids discrimination based on “predisposing genetic characteristics” (Exec. Law §§ 292(21-a), 296(1)(a)), and forbids requiring a genetic test, or information from which a predisposing genetic characteristic can be inferred, as a condition of employment, except where a specific test is shown to be directly related to the work environment (§ 296(19)(a), (b)).

Who can my employer tell?

Medical information you give is confidential. You have “a right to have such medical information kept confidential” (Exec. Law § 296(3)(d); 9 NYCRR 466.11(j)(5), (k)(4)). Under the ADA, information from employment exams and inquiries must be kept on separate forms, in separate medical files, and treated as a confidential medical record, with narrow exceptions: supervisors may be told about necessary work restrictions and accommodations, first aid and safety staff may be told if emergency treatment might be needed, and government investigators may see it (42 U.S.C. § 12112(d)(3)(B), (4)(C)). Your coworkers have no right to know your diagnosis.

Should I tell my employer?

That is your decision, and it depends on the facts. Some things to weigh:

• Disclosing, in writing, is what triggers the employer’s duties. Without it, you may have no accommodation claim.
• If you are later fired or disciplined, a written record of when the employer learned of your condition is often the most important evidence in the case.
• You can limit what you share to what the request needs: the limitation and the change that would help, supported by a provider’s note.
• If you are already having performance problems that your condition may explain, raising it sooner is usually better than raising it after discipline.

What are the deadlines?

General periods only; when a period starts depends on the facts. An EEOC charge under the ADA or the PWFA is generally due within 300 days in New York. A State Human Rights Law claim can be brought in court within three years (CPLR 214(2)), or with the Division of Human Rights within three years for conduct on or after February 15, 2024 and one year before that (Exec. Law § 297(5)). A City Human Rights Law claim can be brought in court within three years (Admin. Code § 8-502(d)) or with the City Commission within one year (§ 8-109(e)). Filing with the Division or the Commission can bar a later lawsuit on the same claim (Exec. Law § 297(9); Admin. Code § 8-502(a)). See the deadlines on the main page.

What can I recover?

An improper medical question or a breach of confidentiality is usually part of a larger claim, such as a failure to accommodate or a firing, and the remedies are those of that claim. See what you can recover.

What is unsettled?

• How much an employer should have known. Under City law and the ADA, the duty can arise from what the employer should have known, but where that line falls depends on the facts of each case; Friedman and Brady involved repeated statements and an obvious disability.

What should I gather?

• Copies of anything you told your employer about your condition, with dates and who received it.
• Any medical questionnaire or exam request from your employer, and what it said the information was for.
• Any sign that your medical information was shared beyond the people who needed it.