Glaucoma is a condition that many feel may prevent them from working. However, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) was created to protect people with disabilities, including glaucoma from discrimination. Learn more about what you are entitled to as a disabled person, reasonable accommodations to request, and the resources available to you.

What protections do I have as a disabled person?

As a working individual with glaucoma, you are entitled to: 

• Confidentiality, respect, and discretion regarding your condition.
• Information about hiring practices from any organization. 
• Choice of disclosure of your disability at any time during the employment process. 
• Reasonable accommodations for an interview.
• Consideration for a position based on your skill and merit. 
• Respectful and appropriate questioning about your disability for the purpose of determining whether you need accommodations. 

What work-related accommodations may I request?

Good communication between you and the employer is imperative as soon as you are hired or have been diagnosed with glaucoma. It is your responsibility to clearly explain your adaptive needs to complete your work. Some things you may request include:

• Proper lighting, good color contrast, and clear paths of travel whether working inside or outside.
• Alteration of the color of the carpet, desk, or walls if office lighting creates problems with glare,
• Glare-reducing computer screens to help dim the brightness of your screen.
• Special computer software that can enlarge a document and/or even read it out loud.
• Closed-circuit television systems that may be used for magnification. 

What resources are available? 

Whether you need job placement, counseling, or training (including co-workers or employers), there are many resources to help. They include:

• Disability and Business Technical Assistance Center
• U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
• American Foundation for the Blind
• Job Accommodation Network
• Lighthouse Guild 

The State Department of Rehabilitation – Every state in the U.S. has a vocational rehabilitation agency that provides a variety of free services. Check the government pages of your phone book for the exact listing.

*Glaucoma in the Workplace. (2011, May 18). Glaucoma Research Foundation. https://www.glaucoma.org/treatment/glaucoma-in-the-workplace.php

Youth, Disclosure, and the Workplace Why, When, What, and How | U.S. Department of Labor. (n.d.). U.S. Department of Labor. Retrieved August 10, 2021, from https://www.dol.gov/agencies/odep/publications/fact-sheets/youth-disclosure-and-the-workplace-why-when-what-and-how