Law column: Mental disorders in the workplace

Anxiety and depression can affect anyone. We all read about the struggles of such celebrities as Robin Williams, Lady Gaga and the Rock. But everyday people also similarly suffer from mental health issues, too.

What are your duties as an Iowa employer to someone with anxiety or depression?

First, employers cannot discriminate against people with a 'mental disability” under both Iowa and federal law. 'Mental disability” includes anxiety and depression and has been broadly defined by the federal Equal Employment Opportunities Commission, especially after the 2009 ADA Amendments Act.

The laws require an employer to provide a 'reasonable accommodation” to assist any disabled employee perform his or her essential job functions. For a physical disability, this is fairly easy.

For example, if an employee requires a wheelchair, an employer can make sure her workspace is wheelchair accessible. The analysis is more complicated for mental disorders, however, as mental disabilities are less obvious.

Moreover, not all employees with psychiatric disabilities need accommodations to perform their essential job functions. For those who do, however, an employer must remember that the employee's input is necessary to determining what, if any, reasonable accommodation could be offered.

This is called the 'interactive process” and consists of nothing more than having a discussion with the employee about what may or may not be economical or feasible. Here is the U.S. Department of Labor's list of examples of accommodations that have helped employees with psychiatric disabilities to more effectively perform their jobs:

l Flexible workplace: working from home, for example

l Scheduling: part-time work hours, for example

l Leave: flexible use of leave for therapy and other related appointments

l Breaks: breaks according to individual needs rather than a fixed schedule

l Other policies: permit beverages and/or food at work stations to mitigate the side effects of medication, for example.

The courts have focused on what is 'reasonable.” In one case, a police officer with anxiety and depression requested a permanent transfer from patrol duties - to booking or the canine unit. The court agreed that it was reasonable to keep him away from patrol duties to accommodate his mental issues, but upheld the employer's decision to instead place him in the training unit.

As you can see, the employer agreed to provide some accommodation requests but rejected others, and the court agreed.

In another case, a veteran with post-traumatic stress disorder was working for state government on a team project. The employer moved the team's office to the basement of a building.

The veteran realized that the noises in the basement were triggering memories of explosions and causing flare ups of his PTSD. The employer did not want to move the entire team again, but was able to find an office on the first floor of the same building for the veteran.

The rest of the team remained in the basement, but team meetings were held upstairs.

So what is the moral of these cases? The trend seems to be that the courts will require employers to go to some lengths to enable employees with mental disabilities to keep working. But it is not limitless - the courts won't require an employer to implement an accommodation that is too expensive, for example.

Also, the courts want some reassurance that an employee can continue performing his or her essential job functions with the accommodation. If not, it is not a 'reasonable” accommodation. Finally, once the accommodation is in place, the employer should continue to meet with the employee to evaluate its effectiveness and make any modifications.

' Wilford H. Stone is with Lynch Dallas Attorneys at Law in Cedar Rapids.