Nurseweek/Healthweek | EEOC says courts 'incorrect" on psychiatric guidelines

EEOC says courts ‘incorrect’ on psychiatric guidelines

posted 8-9-97

Many courts have disregarded guidelines on how to deal with psychiatric disabilities under the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, according to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), which issued the guidelines in March.

"The ADA has always covered psychiatric disabilities, but at the same time we’ve had a lot of questions from employers asking how to analyze the disability. In response to that, we decided to put out guidelines," said Carol Miaskoff, assistant legal counsel for coordination for the EEOC.

"One of the goals of [issuing the guidelines] is to keep things out of court," Miaskoff said. However, when cases do go to court, courts often reject the EEOC’s recommendations. "The courts often are taking positions contrary to what the commission has said," she said. "Our impression is that a lot of court decisions are incorrectly decided under the law."

The EEOC guidelines:

explain when an employee is required to disclose a psychiatric disability and when an employer can ask,
explain how an employee can request reasonable accommodations for a disability and types of accommodations that have proved effective,
cover conduct-related issues, such as whether an employee can be disciplined for breaching a workplace rule, and
cover professional licensing issues, such as in the case of a healthcare worker who is denied a professional license because of current or past psychiatric disorders.

In addition, the guidelines discuss what an employer can do if an employee poses a "direct threat." Typically such a case involves an employer who is worried that employees who take medication affecting concentration or coordination may pose a danger to themselves or other workers, Miaskoff said.

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Equal Employment Opportunity Commission