Oh, long story, i uhm, had a stroke too. blah blah brain aneurism, yada yada now 2+2=5
[from the Ethicist this week]
Q: "During my senior year of college, I accepted an offer at a high-profile investment bank. Many of my interview questions were mathematical, requiring me to multiply large numbers in my head or analyze financial situations rigorously. Subsequently, I had a stroke (long story) that has severely impaired my ability to do math. I'm struggling with notifying my future employers of this impairment but am worried that they would rescind my offer. What's the right thing to do? Anonymous, Pennsylvania"
A: I'm not sure what a ''high profile'' investment bank is -- one that goes clubbing with glamorous celebrities? In my tiny world, all investment banks are low profile, and all investments are money-losers. But I digress. And weep for my financial future.
If you are now unable to do the job, you should disclose this to your employer, both as a matter of ethics -- it is simple honesty to do so -- and pragmatism: the truth will come out soon enough.
But Judith Conti, an attorney specializing in workplace law, told me: ''If with 'reasonable accommodations' he can do the job, then he absolutely should notify the employer and ask for those accommodations. The Americans With Disabilities Act requires employers to make reasonable accommodations for disabled people so that they can perform their jobs as if they weren't disabled.''
If, for example, by using a calculator you can now do the math you once did in your head, you are entitled to the job.
An employer must take those steps that would allow someone to do the job up to the usual standards. He may not simply fire you or rescind the job offer (which is not to say he will not; that's also where lawyers come in). In this, ''legal'' and ''ethical'' are synonymous.
Conti adds another pertinent fact: employers ''are not required to do anything unless they are asked and properly notified about the disability.'' And so as a matter of ethics and a means of exercising your legal rights, you should inform your new employer of your circumstances."
