OPM.Gov is a website that can help if a person has documented proof of a disability. I have also found that doing research on companies that hire people with disabilities in the state a person lives in. Good Luck!!

Hi Todd, This reply to your post turned out to be a lot longer than I intended. By writing all that I did I was hoping to help you feel not-so-all-alone, and also to attract attention of someone who may have advice for my son, and others experiencing the same troubles. Here goes!

My kids and I relocated to another state after living in the same hometown all our lives. (Kids are 26 and 35). My 35-year-old is touched by Ausbergers and before we realized something was going on with him that needed attention from a doctor, he had an outburst - an episode at his job (Home Depot). They were very understanding, let him stay on and cut his hours to part time per the doctor's request. He was one of their star employees, everyone at his store loved him, they always spoke very highly of him whenever I went there to shop. All my friends would tell me they knew when my son was working because there wouldn't be a stray cart in the lot. On his days off, carts were scattered everywhere and they had trouble finding one to use inside the store. My son was also very polite and helpful with customers as well as his coworkers. He worked this same position at Home Depot for about 7 years, I think. When we relocated to the state we live in now, we all thought the job opening at the Home Depot here was a shoe-in. He was looking forward to working for the same company who treated him so well in spite of his disability.
Well, to this day we don't understand why he wasn't hired here for the same position he worked in our hometown. We thought it would be hard for Home Depot to find anyone willing to spend the day pushing carts in the lots in Las Vegas, considering the summer months can reach temps to 120 degrees, sometimes even higher. Winter months can get below 40 degrees, with wind chill factor even much colder. My son was more than willing to endure the temperature extremes to work for the company he was already trained in and came to love. Not getting re-hired for that company not only discouraged and confused my son, he became very depressed (only for a short time, thank God) and almost gave up on everything. After months of being jobless and pounding the pavement every day, he landed a lot tech job at Walmart. He burned out at Walmart within one year and had to take stress leave (which they did not compensate him for in any way). Walmart kept promising him an "inside" position doing stock or in the produce department. Never happened; in fact, after speaking to one of the cashiers who had been there for several years, I learned it was common practice for the company to tell their lot techs this to keep them working, but they never transferred them inside. She said they just wait till the lot techs "burn out" and quit, then they hire a new one. Now he's being treated unfairly at his present job, even though he's doing the work they require. I believe it's because he hurt himself by burdening his stock cart with too much weight, just to meet the supervisor's demands. They told him if he is late one minute, or has to take one sick day off during the next entire YEAR, he'll get a write-up (which for my son is the worst thing ever!) and face possible termination. This has him stressed out to the point he's having trouble sleeping and enjoying his days off. There's a lot more to the story than that but the point I'm making is it's not just Lowe's that seems to be discriminatory. If employees' disability is not physical it's even worse. The Home Depot in our hometown was an exception rather than the rule, I'm finding out. I thought it was the other way around and that most companies would be as accommodating and understanding about an employee who put all his effort every day into his tasks at work, and who remained helpful and polite with customers. I guess I'm looking for answers by posting this. I'm at a loss as what to do. I want to protect him even though he's 35 and highly functional and extremely independent. I'm his mother, I can't help but try to fix things for him and make his life easier. Actually, I just want to see him get what he deserves for all his hard work, dedication, and goodness. He has never broken a law, never tried drugs, never even picked up a cigarette.
One day he told me, "Mom, it's true. Nice guys really do finish last" and after everything I've seen him go through while doing the right thing, I had no words of comfort for him.

I understand you. PTSD is a complex trauma. We are Chaplains working with our Veterans and it is very disheartening to hear in how our Veterans are not being hired due to their silent disability.

I'm so sorry to hear that, Todd. Do you feel it is necessary to let them know of your disability? I know that some people do, so I can understand that. However, if you don't feel it is something that greatly impacts your work, it may be better to not sure that information right up front. Maybe letting them know after being hired would be better.