Floridagal: Did you in fact have a diagnosis of PD when you signed a statement indicating that you did not have PD? If so, that could eventually be a problem. It is falsification of a document and could be grounds for dismissal. I would be worried that a point in time might come when your employer may learn that you have PD. It could impact your health insurance in a negative way. The falsification could allow them to fire you instead of accommodate you. I know that the insurance company contracted by my employer looked at the previous five years of my medical records. They were very thorough.

I'm sure that I will be repeating a lot of what others have already said, but I felt that I'd like to share with you Doreen's experience with the "tell or not to tell" dilemma. Doreen is an extremely honest and upfront person so that NOT telling her employer seemed not to be an option...and, too, the stress of NOT making them aware only complicated and exacerbated her tremor(which was not really too evident at the time) so that she probably could have "put off" telling them; however, she chose not to do that. What she did do was to post a notice on the employee bulletin board that read: "WHAT DO MOHAMMED ALI, JANET RENO, POPE JOHN, MICHAEL FOX and DOREEN have in common? One by one...all separately...came to Doreen and expressed how sorry they were to know this...and many called me at home to tell me how sorry they were, too. From that day until now, she has had nothing but wonderful support...there isn't anything anyone there wouldn't do for her. Of course, she wants no one to feel sorry for her, and she refuses to allow anyone to do something that she feels she is capable of doing...she would never take advantage of their goodness. You may or may not recall that just recently, Doreen went through a particularly difficult time as a result of having taken Cogentin...absolutely horrendous cognitive impairment which, until this was resolved by weaning off the medication, became a very real problem at work. Doreen is a medical assistant to the cancer specialist in the ENT practice...has been his assistant for 20+ years...but, they just couldn't allow her to work with him while cognitively impaired. They simply relieved her of that position and virtually allowed her to function in whatever capacity she could at the time. It's important to note that Doreen has no recall of all this and it was not until all was resolved with the medication situation that her administrator talked with her and asked her what SHE would want to do in the office...even asked her if she'd like to return to full-time medical assisting. She decided not to do this...that the stress level in that position was becoming a bit too difficult for her...and, at her suggestion, she now oversees and assists the other medical assistants with all the other work that their job entails (aside from working with the doctor). It has been difficult for her in a way because she has had to relinquish a job that she had so thoroughly enjoyed...but, the stress level is so much less. Perhaps Doreen has just been fortunate in that she works for and with people who seem to really care about her and are willing to do what's necessary to help her to continue to work for them. I realize that for some, the circumstances are such that it just might not work as well for them as it has worked for Doreen...but, as I believe someone else mentioned...just unburdening oneself by being upfront with one's employer has to be a relief in and of itself...has to result in a lessening of the stress level thus making it so much easier to do one's job. I guess, then, I am of the opinion that it's so much better to tell than not to tell. It just seemed, too, that Doreen was so respected for having made her employer and her coworkers aware of her PD. I understand so well the dilemma that this presents, but, in the long run, I firmly believe that most employers will respond well to an employee who is honest enough to risk telling.

Therese

My PD was diagnosed almost 4 years ago, so yes, I knew, and lied. I have had tremendous guilt about it, and consequently, more stress, but at the time, I couldn't think of anything else to do to be given a chance to show I was capable before they pre judged me. I didn't sign up for company insurance and so, hopefully they don't have any way of knowing until I tell or show them through a worsening of symptoms. Next year my insurance costs will more than triple because my spouse is retiring and that will be hard, but still better than no job if I were to disclose or be found out after asking for the company plan. John and K Ibsen, what I want to know is, why would my pre existing condition be any different from somebody who has say, Breast Cancer, or AIDS, when they applied. I think it's wrong to single out a few particular conditions and ask about them, and not ALL serious conditions. Those illnesses are often life-threatening and expensive and debilitating just like ours, so what gives? Please explain the difference to me, because I definitely don't get it. Yes, I've heard they can fire me for being dishonest, but I was between a rock and a hard place, I think. I do believe honesty is in most cases the best policy but not when you may not be given a fair chance because of it. JL

I think it is illegal for an employer to discriminate in hiring someone due to a pre-existing condition, unless the condition would prevent the person from actually doing the job.

I read that you already had the job and were filling out the usual paperwork. When I was first hired at my current employer, there was an open enrollment in the health insurance where they would accept any pre-existing condition, I just had to tell them what it was. At that point, they couldn't un-hire you, or you would have grounds for a law suit.

My concern, Floridagal, is that you may want to apply for insurance and when they check your medical records they would find the discrepancy. Is it too late for you to go back to your HR office and ask to review the form and just tell them that you think you may have made a mistake? Correcting it early may be a lot easier than trying to explain it later.