The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has published a new “fact sheet” addressing the rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of persons suffering from depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and other mental health conditions.
In a press release accompanying the fact sheet, titled Depression, PTSD, & Other Mental Health Conditions in the Workplace: Your Legal Rights, the EEOC states that it hopes to raise awareness about mental health issues generally, and also to support veterans who have returned home with service-connected mental health disabilities.
In conjunction with the new fact sheet, the agency has also published a companion guide for employees to provide to their mental health providers. The Mental Health Provider’s Role in a Client’s Request for a Reasonable Accommodation at Work makes suggestions on how to document a request for an accommodation and how to counsel a patient on his or her rights under the ADA.
Although not directed to employers, the new fact sheets are worth reviewing in that they could be misread by employees and their health care providers as suggesting that the ADA creates an entitlement to an accommodation in the case of a mental disability.
Members of the Equal Employment Advisory Council (EEAC) can read more here.