Eventually, some people with fibromyalgia are no longer able to keep doing their jobs. This is often a crushing blow, not only to your household income but also to your ego and sense of self-worth. As a result, you may resist disability for as long as possible. But the reality is that fibromyalgia makes some jobs too difficult to perform.

The good news is, disabled Americans are legally protected under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), a law passed by Congress in 1990. The ADA prohibits employers with fifteen or more employees from discriminating against people with disabilities in making decisions about hiring and employment. In addition to employment, the law means equal opportunity in transportation, public accommodations, state and local government services, and telecommunications. The ADA also has some other rules that can protect you.

If you do need certain accommodations, your employer cannot pay you a lower wage or salary to cover the cost of these accommodations. An employer also can't ask you to pay for these items. If any modification poses undue economic hardship on the employer, the company must offer you the option of providing it yourself or paying for part of it.

An employer cannot ask if you have a disability or about the severity of it. But an employer is allowed to ask if you are able to perform the essential duties of the job.

Before offering you a job, an employer cannot ask you to undergo a medical examination. After a job offer, however, the employer can make that request, provided all employees in that position are required to do the same. Your medical records must remain confidential.

Your employer must offer you the same health insurance benefits that are offered to other employees. But an employer is not required to offer you extra benefits to cover your medical condition, and a new insurance carrier may not cover pre-existing conditions.

If it's obvious that you have a disability that will interfere — or already does affect — your ability to perform certain tasks, your employer is entitled to ask you to describe or demonstrate how you would perform the tasks and whether you need any accommodations to help you do them.

At the same time, the ADA does not require employers to make major changes to accommodate your medical condition. Employers do not need to provide accommodations that impose “undue hardship” on business operations, and they are not expected to lower their quality and production standards to accommodate your disability. In addition, employers are not obligated to provide personal use items such as splints or special eyewear for people with disabilities. So although an employer cannot discriminate against you due to a disability, he is allowed to expect the same job performance from you as from a person without a disability.