Living with Diabetes

Basic Information

Disability Discrimination in Employment (PDF)
(Brian East, JD – Advocacy, Inc.) (Oct. 2007)
A summary in outline form of the major federal laws that protect individuals with diabetes and other disabilities from employment discrimination, and legal issues that arise in these cases.

Employment Considerations for People Who Have Diabetes (PDF) (2001)
(Cornell's School of Industrial and Labor Relations, Program on Disability)

Screening Questions for Individuals with Diabetes (PDF) (2007)
A list of questions that may be useful in exploring a potential client’s diabetes and the effect it may have on a discrimination case.

State Disability Discrimination Laws (PDF)
A chart comparing various aspects of state disability discrimination laws, including time limitations for filing charges of discrimination with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

Diabetes Discrimination and the Department of Defense (PDF)
(Victoria Thomas, JD – American Diabetes Association) (July 2008)
This memorandum discusses the Rehabilitation Act's application to military and civilian employment within the Department of Defense and examines the physical standards relevant to diabetes in military positions within the Department of Defense.

Diabetes and Employment (PDF)
Diabetes Care Volume 35, Supplement 1, (Jan. 2012)
This document provides a general set of guidelines for evaluating individuals with diabetes for employment, including how an assessment should be performed and what changes (accommodations) in the workplace may be needed for an individual with diabetes.

EEOC Materials on Diabetes

Key Issues

Proving Diabetes is a Disability
Information on proving that diabetes qualifies as a disability within the meaning of the Americans with Disabilities Act, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, and other antidiscrimination laws.

Addressing Safety Concerns and Qualification Standards
Responding to claims that individuals with diabetes pose a safety risk in the workplace, including the direct threat defense and standards that prohibit or restrict employment of people with diabetes.

Commercial Driving and Diabetes
This page contains litigation materials related to the employment of individuals with diabetes as commercial drivers, as well as the application of commercial driving medical standards to jobs now within the commercial driving field. For more general information on commercial driving and diabetes, click here.

Reasonable Accommodations
Many people with diabetes will need reasonable accommodations on the job to enable them to properly care for their diabetes.

Case Materials

(arranged alphabetically by case name)

• Diabetes Discrimination Litigation
• Other Litigation

Case Summaries

Employment Cases Dealing with Discrimination on the Basis of Diabetes (PDF) (December 2011)
A comprehensive list of diabetes employment discrimination cases, with brief summaries.