Hi Virginia, the question you pose is a great question. The answer is, its complicated. Let me explain. The U.S. Department of Labor last year passed new regulations for companies that work with the federal government called Federal Contractors. These are companies who make more than $50,000 from the federal government. The regulations say that these federal contractors need to have 7% of their work force comprised of people with disabilities. So if you are applying to a company who is a federal contractor, it might benefit you to tell them that you are a person with a disability because it may help you get the position. Remember, this is up to you though. Our site, www.disABLEDperson.com is a national job board for people with disabilities and we have many employers there who are federal contractors who are proactive in hiring people with disabilities to stay compliant with the regulations. So ask the employer you are looking at if they are a federal contractor and then make your decision. Remember though, unless you need a work accommodation, simply saying to the employer that you are self identifying yourself as a person with a disability is enough. Do not go into details.

So what if the employer is not a federal contractor. The in my opinion you should not inform them that you have a disability. It is non of their business. There is only one reason in my opinion to tell your employer and that is if you need an accommodation to perform your work.

Hope this helps?

Mike www.disABLEDperson.com www.JOFDAV.com

Thank you Mike Corso for your excellent advice. I believe I saw that on the Internet somewhere. So disabledpersons.Com is only federal contractors? Just looking for disabled people? Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter. Virginia

Yes, you should inform them in case there's an accident on the job that your involved in.