Elusive but Attainable: Justice for Workers Afflicted with Fibromyalgia

Mitzi Baker

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DOI: 10.2190/WR.13.2.g

Abstract

Fibromyalgia is a serious medical condition that has been misunderstood and generally disregarded by the medical community as well as by the courts. Individuals with this syndrome have been unsuccessful in their attempts to acquire protection under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). While the courts see the syndrome as a medically determinable disability, their judgments are conflicting and unpredictable. This article examines how the courts have treated litigants with invisible disabilities such as fibromyalgia in ADA litigation, examines what litigants have done wrong, and discusses the guidelines proposed by Congress for inclusion within the statute. In an appendix, the article also presents proposed guidelines to help those individuals afflicted with the syndrome to navigate successfully through the administrative process and civil litigation.

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.