Accommodating Employees with Mental Health Disabilities in ... · Accommodating Employees with Mental Health Disabilities in Higher Education. April 23, 2015. Presented by the Higher

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Employer C E N T E RA T

Employer TA CENTER

Accommodating Employees

with Mental Health Disabilities

in Higher Education

April 23, 2015

Presented by the Higher Education Recruitment Consortium

(HERC) and National Employer Policy, Research and Technical

Assistance Center for Employers on the Employment of People

with Disabilities (Employer TA Center)

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Employer T A C E N T E R

Accommodating Mental Health Disabilities in

Higher Education

Housekeeping

• Call: 415-655-0045

– Access code: 664 745 058#

• Submit questions via Q&A window

• Tweet using hashtag #AskEARN

• Contact WebEx tech support at 1-866-229-3239

• Live captioning at the bottom right of screen

• Having trouble posting to the Q&A? Email [email protected]

• Download slides at AskEARN.org

• An archived recording of the webinar will be posted to AskEARN.org within the week

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Higher Education

Carol Dunlap, M.Ed., AGS

Business Development

Specialist

ODEP

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Higher Education

Agenda

• Welcome

• ODEP/HERC Alliance

• Speaker Introductions

• John D. Kemp, President & CEO, The Viscardi Center

• Dr. Beth Loy, Principal Consultant, Job Accommodation

Network (JAN)

• Accommodations for People with Mental Health Disabilities in

Higher Education

• The Broad View & Legal Framework

• Accommodations in Action

• Facilitated Discussion

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Higher Education

Audience Polling Question #1

Who are you?

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Higher Education

John D. Kemp

President & CEO

The Viscardi Center

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Employer Viewpoints:

Great talent is found in people who represent many

age groups, new geographies, and different work/life

experiences and skill-sets.

Recruitment and advancement talent pools should be

as deep and rich as possible from which to draw the

best workforce.

Current employees will likely experience a mental

health disability while working that may need an

accommodation.

Employment is an investment in human capital.


Higher Education

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Higher Education

Reasonable Accommodations

Higher Education

Environment

Mental Health Disabilities

Segmenting the

Topic

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Do the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, ADA of 1990

and ADA Amendments Act of 2008:

Protect people with mental health disabilities

from unlawful discrimination, and

Require employers to accommodate

reasonably the limitation of their disabilities?


Higher Education

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The ADA/ADAAA definition of disability includes

people with mental illness who meet any one or

more of these three definitions:

A physical or mental impairment that substantially

limits one or more major life activities of an individual;

A record of such an impairment; and/or

Being regarded as having such an impairment.

A mental impairment is defined by the ADA as: "any

mental or psychological disorder, such as mental

retardation (sic), organic brain syndrome, emotional

or mental illness, and specific learning disabilities.”


Higher Education

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Definitions/categories of mental health disabilities vary:

Mayo Clinic:

Refers to a wide range of disorders that affect mood,

thinking and behavior. Examples include depression, anxiety

disorders, schizophrenia, eating disorders and addictive

behaviors.

Social Security Administration:

Nine diagnostic categories (organic mental disorders;

schizophrenic, paranoid and other psychotic disorders;

affective disorders; intellectual disability; anxiety-related

disorders; somatoform disorders; personality disorders;

substance addiction disorders; and autistic disorder and

other pervasive developmental disorders).


Higher Education

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Employer’s affirmative duty is to make reasonable

accommodations

Employer must reasonably accommodate only if they

know about one’s mental health disabilities.

Conversely, an employer need not make

accommodations to disabilities and their limitations of

which they are not aware.

If an employee with an employer-known disability is

having a hard time doing his or her job, the employer

may ask whether the employee is in need of a

reasonable accommodation.


Higher Education

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If the employer has reason to know that the

employee has a disability, it may have an obligation

to initiate discussions regarding reasonable

accommodation(s), but mostly it is the individual’s

responsibility to tell the employer that one is needed

and about the disability for which it is requested.

An employer may not ask questions about medical

or psychiatric history during the pre-employment

phase, such as the interview, unless initiated by the

applicant.


Higher Education

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An employer may ask:

Objective questions that help the employer decide

whether essential job duties can be performed safely.

About one’s ability to:

Meet the physical standards for jobs involving

physical labor,

Get along with people,

Finish tasks on time, and

Come to work every day—

as long as these are essential job duties.

Visit AskJAN.org for examples of reasonable

accommodations


Higher Education

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Examples of covered higher education entities:

Colleges and universities;

Technical/vocational schools;

Online accredited schools of higher learning;

and,

Schools and institutes providing certification of

workplace skills.


Higher Education

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Contact the Employer TA Center

AskEARN.org

[email protected]

#AskEARN


Higher Education

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Higher Education


Does your organization have a

formal policy regarding how

employees should request

accommodations?

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Higher Education

Dr. Beth Loy

Principal Consultant

JAN

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Do provide:

Reasonable Accommodation

When

How

Why

Mental Health in Higher Education

Mental Health: Big Picture

Do not:

Discriminate

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WHEN To Accommodate

Starting the Interactive Process


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Employer T A C E N T E R 21


What is a reasonable accommodation request?

An applicant or employee asks for something that is

needed because of a medical condition.

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A technician is disciplined for poor performance. In

response, she says “it’s because I have bipolar disorder

and I can’t concentrate with all these distractions.”

Is this an accommodation request?

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Is this an accommodation request?

Yes.

Quieter work environment is needed

Because of a medical condition

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Accommodation Ideas: Concentration

Reduce distractions in the work area

Increase natural lighting or provide full spectrum lighting

Allow flexible work environment

Divide large assignments into smaller tasks and goals

Use auditory or written cues as appropriate

Restructure job to include only essential functions

Provide memory aids such as schedulers, organizers, or

email applications

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WHEN:

Missing a Request

Unnecessary Delays

Err on the Side of Caution

Conduct Training

Assign Responsibility

Act Quickly

Streamline Procedures

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HOW To Accommodate

Getting What You Need To Process the Request


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What information is allowed?

Limitations, work-related problem, accommodation ideas

Medical documentation

• Employee has a disability

• Employee needs an accommodation

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In the past, an employee with depression asked not to

have to attend face-to-face meetings in the office, but

rather to attend them remotely. The employee recently

asked to attend a week-long training remotely because her

depression medication caused extreme fatigue.

Does the employer have all the information needed to

process this request?

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Does the employer have all the information needed to

process this request?

Yes.

Employer has documented a disability

Employer has documented the need for the accommodation

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Accommodation Ideas: Fatigue


Flexible scheduling

Modified break schedule

Leave for counseling

Work from home/Flexi-place

Provide a goal-oriented workload

Reduce or eliminate physical exertion and workplace

stress

Implement ergonomic workstation design

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HOW:

Getting What You Need

Not Asking for Too Much

What, Why, How

Do You Already Have It?

Why Do You Need It?

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WHY to Accommodate

Accommodations are Cost Effective


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Why should you explore accommodation ideas?

Retain the employee

Increase productivity

Improve attendance

Document available resources

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To save money, a new supervisor decided that none of her

employees would be allowed to work at home anymore.

One employee asked to continue working at home during

panic attacks from her anxiety. The new supervisor said

“No, the new policy is no one works at home. You can

take leave time.”

Is this okay?

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What should you not do?

Say “this is not how we do it”

Rigidly stick to policies

Not listen to anyone else

Compare salary to cost of accommodation

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Accommodation Ideas: Panic Attacks


• Flexible scheduling

• Modified break schedule

• Leave for counseling

• Work from home/Flexi-place

Allow the employee to take a break and go to a place

where s/he feels comfortable to use relaxation techniques

or contact a support person

Identify and remove environmental triggers such as

particular smells or noises

Allow the presence of a support animal

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HOW:

Saying “NO” Too Quickly

No Ideas

Laws

Policies

Focus on What Could Work

ADA Coordinator

Ask the Employee

Ask the Doctor

Ask JAN

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Contact

(800) 526-7234 (V)

(877) 781-9403 (TTY)

AskJAN.org & [email protected]

(304) 216-8189 via Text

janconsultants via Skype

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Higher Education


Does your organization have a

Centralized Accommodation

Fund?

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Higher Education


Does your organization have an

Employee Assistance Program?


Higher Education

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Higher Education

Questions for

Panelists


Higher Education

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Higher Education


Higher Education

Accommodating Employees with Mental Health Disabilities in ... · Accommodating Employees with Mental Health Disabilities in Higher Education. April 23, 2015. Presented by the Higher

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