 |
This Web site is a component of the SAMHSA Health Information Network. |
|
Filing an ADA Employment Discrimination Charge:
Making It Work for You
Overview
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is commonly believed to be a law about the rights of people with physical disabilities. However, the law is for people with psychiatric disabilities, too. It forbids discrimination against people with both physical and mental disabilities in employment, transportation, public facilities, and public communications. The ADA's employment requirements are especially important for people with psychiatric disabilities. This is because many employers share society's fear, prejudices, and lack of information about mental illness.
The ADA provides a very specific definition of an "individual with a disability". Under the ADA, an individual with a disability is a person who: (1) has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of his/her major life activities; (2) has a record of such an impairment; or (3) is regarded as having such an impairment. To be protected under the ADA, an individual must prove that he or she passes this three-pronged test. When a disability severely affects an individual's physical abilities (for example, paralysis or a severe vision or hearing impairment), this may not be difficult. The task is harder for people with "hidden" disabilities (for example, psychiatric disabilities) that are not so easily identifiable.
To be protected by the ADA's employment requirements, it is not enough to be an individual with a disability. Rather, the ADA prohibits employment discrimination against "qualified individuals with disabilities". A qualified individual with a disability is an individual with a disability who meets the skill, experience, education, and other job-related requirements of a position held or desired, and who, with or without reasonable accommodations, can perform the essential functions of a job.
What is meant by "reasonable accommodations"? Accommodations are changes to the work environment or the way things are usually done that allow an individual with a disability to enjoy equal employment opportunities. There are many reasonable accommodations that may be useful to people with psychiatric disabilities. Examples are restructuring job tasks, providing self-paced workloads and flexible hours, furnishing written job instructions, and allowing time off for professional counseling. An accommodation is not considered reasonable if it creates an "undue hardship" for the employer. Undue hardship refers not only to financial hardship, but also to accommodations that are overly extensive or disruptive, or that would change the nature or operation of a business.
Reasonable Accommodations:
Recommended Reference
For a detailed discussion of reasonable accommodations, see the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's policy guidance called Enforcement Guidance: Reasonable Accommodation and Undue Hardship Under the Americans with Disabilities Act. To obtain a copy of the guidance, call the U.S. Publication Distribution Center's toll free voice telephone number (1-800-669-3362) or its toll free (TDD) number (1-800-800-3302). The guidance also can be found on-line at www.eeoc.gov/docs/accommodation.html. To obtain other references on reasonable accommodations, call SAMHSA's National Mental Health
Information Center at 1-800-789-2647.
The ADA is a legal tool to fight discrimination. Any person who believes he or she has experienced employment discrimination based on a psychiatric disability has a right to file an administrative "charge" or "complaint" with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) or a state or local anti-discrimination agency. Such individuals also may file a lawsuit in court, but only after filing an administrative charge.
This guidebook focuses on the issue of employment discrimination and the extent to which the ADA charge process can be of help to people with psychiatric disabilities. It first describes the general filing and investigation process. It then considers special issues of concern to people with psychiatric disabilities. A glossary of terms is included at the end of the guidebook.
BACK | TOC | NEXT
|
|
