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Help your staffers manage a disease that affects about 18 million U.S. employees

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Keep in mind that there’s a pretty good chance someone on your crew has diabetes, a disease that causes sugar to build up in the body and can lead to even more severe health complications such as heart disease, kidney failure and blindness.

Consider: About 18 million employees in the U.S. have diabetes. And because the disease is usually considered a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act, you’re legally obligated to accommodate staffers with the condition – or risk a costly lawsuit.

In many cases, individuals with diabetes don’t require extensive accommodations and can manage the disease without much help.

Sometimes, however, people with diabetes need workplace accommodations.

Your best bet is to meet with the staffer who has diabetes to develop an accommodation plan specific to that person.

Generally, individuals with diabetes need to regularly monitor their glucose levels and sometimes take action to keep those levels stable. In those situations, you should allow for the storage of medications such as insulin, as well as certain foods. It’s also a good idea to provide an area where blood sugar levels can be tested and insulin can be administered.

When employees with the condition struggle to maintain their glucose levels, they sometimes experience a hyperglycemic episode. After the episode, they might need to go to a rest area to reorient themselves.

Flexible scheduling is also an effective tool to help accommodate staffers with diabetes. Let people with the condition take rest breaks as required to manage the disease. And allow staff members to change their schedules for medical appointments or to prevent disruptions to their meal and treatment routines. Be willing to adjust your attendance requirements to allow for diabetes-related absences.

(From the October 17, 2025, issue of HR Manager’s Legal Alert for Supervisors. To start your no-obligation trial subscription to the publication right now, please click here.