143 Determining Who Is an Individual With a Record of a Disability

An individual has a record of a disability if the individual has a history of, or has been misclassified as, having a mental or physical impairment that substantially limits a major life activity as compared to most people in the general population. The Postal Service will construe broadly, and without extensive analysis, whether an individual has a record of a disability. Examples of individuals with a record of a disability may include the following:

• A person who suffered from cancer 10 years ago, but is now deemed cancer-free.
• A recovering drug addict with a record of addiction.
• A person misdiagnosed with a mental illness and erroneously classified as having a learning disability.
• An employee with a record of a substantially limiting impairment may be entitled to reasonable accommodation if needed and related to the past disability. For example, an employee may need to leave work to attend follow-up or “monitoring” appointments related to the past disability.