In the Spotlight

Psychiatric Disabilities in the Workplace & Reasonable Accommodations

By Steven Bruce, Legal Director

Many people with psychiatric disorders significantly contribute to the workforce without coworkers and employers ever knowing about their disabilities. Conditions such as Schizophrenia, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Bipolar Disorder – sometimes called “invisible disabilities” – can often be controlled with medication and/or support from therapists and/or job coaches. In fact, a Cornell University study from 2007 states that 28.8% of working age individuals have a mental impairment.

But many people with mental impairments are unemployed despite a high percentage of this population wanting to work and being able to work with or without vocational or mental health support. This loss of productivity and human potential is costly for everyone.

Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), people with disabilities are not required to disclose their conditions, except when requesting an accommodation. Employers may not ask an applicant or employee if they have a disability.

Once someone discloses a disability and requests an accommodation, the employer after declining the accommodation requested must engage in an interactive process with the employee to determine whether the requested accommodation is reasonable and enables the employee to perform the essential job functions. Employers do not have to grant the exact accommodation requested, but they must provide an accommodation that would enable the employee to get on equal footing unless doing so would pose an undue hardship or change the nature of the business.

For example, a retail store employee with Schizophrenia may request that his job coach – a counselor employed by a social services agency – come to the store to meet with him periodically to coach him on how to improve his performance at work. Not all employers agree to accommodations requested by their employees, nor are they required to if it would impose an undue hardship or change the nature of the business, though many employers can and do provide needed accommodations to employees with psychiatric disabilities.

Employers may choose to provide an accommodation that is different from the one requested by the employee if the provided accommodation serves the same purpose. To use the example of a retail store employee with Schizophrenia once more, the store may elect to assign a colleague to coach the employee with Schizophrenia in place of permitting the employee’s job coach to work with him during his shifts.

Sometimes, reasonable accommodations are not enough to enable an employee with a psychiatric disability to perform the essential functions of their job. In this event, employers do not need to create a new job for the disabled employee. However, if there happens to already be another job whose essential functions the employee is able and qualified to perform, the employer should make every effort to put the disabled employee into that position.

If an employer denies the request and also fails to provide an alternative to an employee’s request for a reasonable accommodation, the employee has the option of filing a complaint with their state’s employment agency or with the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

Employers help accommodate employees with disabilities the same way they would help other employees, just by being flexible. By being reasonable and open, most employers can help make their workplace inclusive and compliant with the ADA so that people with psychiatric disabilities have an equal opportunity to experience the self-esteem increase, economic empowerment, and social connections that occur when one is able to thrive in the workplace.

PWDF Profile

Who We Are

People With Disabilities Foundation is an operating 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in San Francisco, California, which focuses on the rights of the mentally and developmentally disabled.

Services

Advocacy: PWDF advocates for Social Security claimant’s disability benefits in eight Bay Area counties. We also provide services in disability rights, on issues regarding returning to work, and in ADA consultations, including areas of employment, health care, and education, among others. There is representation before all levels of federal court and Administrative Law Judges. No one is declined due to their inability to pay, and we offer a sliding scale for attorney’s fees.

Education/Public Awareness: To help eliminate the stigma against people with mental disabilities in society, PWDF’s educational program organizes workshops and public seminars, provides guest speakers with backgrounds in mental health, and produces educational materials such as videos.