Study: Many With Epilepsy Fear Workplace Discrimination
By Dave Reynolds, Inclusion Daily Express
December 12, 2006

JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA--Many people with epilepsy avoid looking for or applying for jobs because they fear workplace discrimination, a University of Florida study has found.

Researchers interviewed nearly 300 people in Florida and Georgia last year and asked them, among other things, whether they were working and, if they were not, why.

They found that a fear of discrimination based on their epilepsy was the number one reason given for unemployment. The researchers did not examine whether or not there had, in fact, been discrimination.

In a press statement, the study's principal author Dr. Ramon Bautista said that they were not surprised to find that people with epilepsy had avoided work, but that the study "shows that if they perceive they are discriminated against at work, they're not going to work -- whether rightly or wrongly."

"Even though the Americans with Disabilities Act makes it illegal to discriminate on the basis of one's disability, there are still employers who may think twice about hiring someone with epilepsy," he added.

Related:
"UF study reveals fear of discrimination keeps many people with epilepsy out of the workplace"
http://news.ufl.edu/2006/12/12/epi-hire/

---

Reproduced here under special arrangement with Inclusion Daily Express international disability rights news service.
© Copyright 2006 Inonit Publishing. Please do not reprint, publish or distribute without permission.