Nurseweek/Healthweek | EEOC rules put psychiatric disorders on par with physical disabilities

EEOC rules put psychiatric disorders on par with physical disabilities

posted 5-14-97

Drawing a strong comparison between physical disabilities and mental illness, the government recently issued guidelines on the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990, clarifying that psychiatric disorders may not serve as a basis of workplace discrimination.

To comply with the new rules issued by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), employers may not ask job applicants if they have a history of mental illness or use an initial psychiatric exam to screen applicants.

Additionally, employers are expected to preserve confidentiality while providing mentally ill workers with "reasonable accommodation," ranging from flexible work hours to extra privacy and even job coaching.

Employers will be able to retain high performance standards, EEOC officials said. The idea is not to unfairly burden business owners, but to demystify the issue of mental disorders in the workplace.

Before releasing the guidelines, the commission focused mostly on physical disabilities covered by the 1990 law. However, emotional or psychiatric impairment was second only to back problems as the leading source of complaints filed with the EEOC under the law in the past four years. Now, conditions such as depression, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia are clearly covered as well.

According to Gilbert F. Casellas, EEOC chairperson, the guidelines cover such common questions as when an employer may hold a person with a psychiatric disability to workplace conduct standards. He describes the rules as "practical instruction to employers and persons with psychiatric disabilities on their respective rights and responsibilities."

The National Alliance for the Mentally Ill applauded the move as beneficial not only to employees, but to employers and judges. But some small business owners expressed fears that they would need special expertise to interpret the rules. Big corporations were generally favorable, policy analysts reported. Meanwhile, EEOC officials said the commission has been inundated with questions.