Accommodating Mental Disabilities During and After the Pandemic

If you have a mental illness, the pandemic might make it harder for you to get the help you need to do well at work. This is because some people are afraid to talk about their mental illness due to the stigma around it, and others might not understand that it is a real disability. This article talks about the rights and responsibilities of everyone involved when mental illness affects work, and how the pandemic might change things even after it’s over. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) protects people with mental disabilities from discrimination in the workplace. Employers must make reasonable accommodations for employees with mental impairments, unless it causes an undue hardship. Mental impairments that substantially limit major life activities, like thinking or interacting with others, are considered disabilities under the ADA. Examples include depression, anxiety disorders, and schizophrenia. If an employee has a mental illness and needs accommodations at work, they need to tell their employer about their condition and what they need. Vague references to symptoms, like being stressed or feeling unwell, are not enough. The employer needs to know about the specific disability and how it affects the employee’s ability to work. If the employer doesn’t know about the disability, they can’t be obligated to provide accommodations. It’s important for the employee to clearly communicate their needs to their employer. When an employee tells their employer about a disability and asks for help, the employer and employee work together to figure out what the employee needs and if the employer can provide it. The employer doesn’t have to make changes unless it lets the employee do all the important parts of their job, and they don’t have to make other employees do the disabled employee’s job. The employer gets to decide what the important parts of the job are. The law says some things the employer could do to help, like changing the work schedule or giving the employee different equipment. But the employer has the final say on how to help, because every job and person is different. A guy with schizophrenia was often late to work because of his medication. His boss got mad and wouldn’t let him start later. But a court said the guy could have worked with a later start time and without a supervisor. Before COVID, most courts said being at work was super important. Now, employers worry that letting people work from home during COVID will make it harder to say no to working from home later. The government says letting people work from home during COVID doesn’t mean they have to do it forever, but it could be considered for future requests. So, employers need to think carefully about letting people work from home during COVID. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations for employees with disabilities. This could include things like modifying work schedules or providing time off for medical treatment. The accommodation must allow the employee to perform their job effectively.

The ADA also says that if a disabled employee can’t perform their current job, the employer might have to transfer them to a different position. However, the employer doesn’t have to give the new job to the disabled employee if there’s a more qualified non-disabled applicant.

The employer doesn’t have to provide a reasonable accommodation if it would cause them significant difficulty or expense. And if a disabled employee does something wrong at work, the ADA doesn’t protect them from being fired for it.

In a recent court case, a disabled employee was fired for yelling at their supervisor. The court said that the ADA doesn’t excuse bad behavior at work, and the employee’s request for accommodation came too late. In the Trahan case, the employee with PTSD acted out at work and was suspended. The court said that just having a disability doesn’t excuse bad behavior at work. Employers have to make sure the workplace is safe for everyone, including employees with disabilities. It’s important for both employees and employers to communicate and work together to find ways to accommodate people with mental illness at work. This can help reduce the stigma around mental illness and make workplaces better for everyone. The ADA and FMLA provide protections for employees who have mental illnesses. Under the ADA, eligible employees are entitled to reasonable accommodations to perform their job. The law also protects individuals who are associated with someone with a disability. The ADA defines a disability as a physical or mental impairment that limits a major life activity. The FMLA allows eligible employees to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave for a serious health condition. These laws help ensure that people with mental illnesses are treated fairly in the workplace. The law says that if someone has a disability that makes it hard for them to do certain things, their employer has to make accommodations for them. The person with the disability usually has to tell their employer what they need. But sometimes, the disability is obvious and the employer should know what to do. It’s illegal for an employer to ask too many personal questions about someone’s disability, and they can only require a medical exam if it’s necessary for the job. If an employee asks for accommodations, the employer can ask for proof that the accommodation is needed. Employers do not have to accommodate someone who is only seen as having a disability, not an actual disability. They do have to consider what the essential functions of a job are and try to accommodate employees who can’t do those functions because of a disability. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has information about COVID-19 and the Americans with Disabilities Act. Remember, even if there’s a seniority system in place, an employer still has to consider reasonable accommodations for employees with disabilities. If a person with a disability asks for a change at work to help them do their job, they have to show that the change would actually help them. If they can show that, then it’s up to the employer to prove that they can’t make the change. Sometimes the court might decide that the suggested change is not reasonable, like if it wouldn’t really help the person do their job well, or if it would be too hard for the employer to do. There are also laws that protect people with disabilities from being treated unfairly at work. The ADA defines “direct threat” as a significant risk to the health or safety of others that cannot be eliminated by reasonable accommodation. The EEOC regulations expand on this, defining it as a significant risk of harm to the health or safety of the individual or others that cannot be eliminated or reduced by reasonable accommodation. In a court case, the Supreme Court upheld the expanded definition to include self-harm. Another court case affirmed that an employee was terminated for violent behavior, not because of PTSD. The author, a lawyer, specializes in employment and business law and represents clients in disputes. The column is submitted on behalf of the Labor and Employment Law Section.

Source: https://www.floridabar.org/the-florida-bar-journal/accommodating-mental-disabilities-during-and-after-the-pandemic/