Podcast #26: You and Your Employer

Lynda Price
Jul 8, 2024
3 min read

Updated: 4 hours ago

We've talked about almost everywhere else in your life, except the one place where you may spend most of your time--your job. What do employers need to know about invisible disabilities? What do you need to know as an employee with an invisible disability? Here's some ideas to get you started....

Who Are Employers?

Defining the term "employers" seems easy-peasy. This clearly is a no-brainer as most of us spend our lives with employers everyday. For instance, the folks from Ontop(2025) explain: "An employer is an individual or organization that hires employees and contracts them to work in exchange for wages or salary. The employer is responsible for providing a safe and fair working environment, paying wages, and providing other benefits such as health insurance and retirement plans."

Sounds pretty uncomplicated, right? Wrong! In the 21st Century, employers and employment can be as complicated as trying to understand Egyptian hieroglyphs. It seems that no two employers are alike. For instance, one may be a single person who owns a small business. Another may run a multi-national corporation. A third may be a state or federal government agency. A company can run out of someone's garage and rely heavily on technology to function. A different company could be totally hands-on, using simple, traditional methods. Some have retail storefronts or production facilities throughout the state or region. Another may function as a non-profit with a single office in a third-floor walk-up. Employers are found in urban or rural settings. You can also conduct business from a plane, a treehouse, under water, or on a mountain top. As an employer, you may have a single employee or thousands on your payroll. You may be a brand-new start-up or a family company that goes back generations. As you can see, employers definitely don't fall into one category or box, but will still have a number of characteristics in common.

First, what are employer responsibilities to their employees?

Second, how do employers compensate their workers?

Third, what do employers expect from their employees?

Fourth, what legal obligations do employers have to their employees?

both with and without disabilities?

vidual or organization that hires employees and contracts them to work in exchange for wages or salary. The employer is responsible for providing a safe and fair working environment, paying wages, and providing other benefits such as health insurance and retirement plans.An employer is an individual or organization that hires employees and contracts them to work in exchange for wages or salary. The employer is responsible for providing a safe and fair working environment, paying wages, and providing other benefits such as health insurance and retirement plans.