Q and A on Diversity in the Workplace

Q & A on Diversity in the Workplace

Question: When is the right time to tell an employer about a learning disability such as dyslexia or ADHD?

--L.J., New York

Answer: Lawyers often advise clients with such so-called hidden disabilities not to disclose them unless they need some help in the workplace because of a disability, says Brian East, an attorney with Advocacy Inc., an Austin, Texas, nonprofit disability-rights organization. If your disability isn't hampering your work, "you may not want to disclose it because of the possibility of discrimination."

However, if your disability is causing job problems, it may be in your own best interest to disclose it, says Mr. East, who is also co-chairman of the disability rights committee of the National Employment Lawyers Association. For example, if you need an accommodation because your ADHD is making it difficult for you to comply with certain paperwork requirements, you would need to disclose your disability in order to receive help. Before doing so, however, you should have in mind a businesslike, positive way of presenting your need, plus a specific, reasonable request for accommodation. For ideas on accommodations, see www.jan.wvu.edu. Another potential reason for disclosing a disability: You are experiencing disability-related harassment on the job.

Question: I recently paid an overnight sitter $10 an hour, or $130, for a 13-hour job. A co-worker said that was too much, that I shouldn't have paid her for the time she was sleeping. What's the right answer?

--J.L., Las Vegas

Answer: There is room for reasonable people to disagree on this. Personally, I pay overnight sitters the same way you did; the inconvenience of sleeping away from home seems to me to warrant round-the-clock pay. Experts agree, however, that a better approach is to negotiate a flat price for the whole job. Michael Gerard of Childcare Solutions, a Beachwood, Ohio, nanny agency, recommends a two-tier rate, paying more for the hours the children are awake. Mr. Gerard says what you paid was about right; on SitterCafe.com, a sitter-search site he runs, sitters' quotes for 12- to 24-hour overnight baby-sitting jobs run at an average $10 an hour, he says.

Genevieve Thiers, chief executive of Sittercity.com, a sitter-search site, however, says you paid a little too much. She advises paying the sitter her usual hourly rate until 10 p.m., then negotiating a flat rate for the overnight hours; a reasonable range would be $40 to $100 for the overnight portion of the job, varying with your location, the number of children and the sitter's age and experience, she says. Then, consider paying your sitter a little extra for the inconvenience of spending the night away from home.