Virtually every job you hold over the course of your working life will require you to do things you don't like. This is true for just about everyone. However, for a person who has OCD, even seemingly mundane aspects of work life can become terrifying. Your job might require you to drive, shake hands with customers or clients, or take them to lunch. If your worries involve food, you may find breakfast or lunch meetings unbearable. You might have many worries related to travel. Your job might require you to fly, or to take a train or car. You might have to handle cash or use public restrooms. Any of those things or situations might cause difficulty.

A handicap, as defined by the ADA, is a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits a major life activity. “Major life activity” in this case could mean concentrating, taking proper care of oneself, and so on. Generally speaking, the language is meant to describe the kinds of things that most other people could do without difficulty.

There are other specific criteria that the EEOC would look at were you to file a discrimination complaint against an employer or former employer. These include the length of time you have had the condition, how severely and in what ways it limits your performance, and whether it is currently being managed by things like medication. But we hope it doesn't come to that. In most cases, effective treatment can reduce how much of a disability OCD has to be.