![]() ![]() When faced with a psychiatric disability, particularly a stress claim, the employer often would be well advised to obtain an IME – an independent medical examination – by a doctor the employer selects. But, the Huiner decision is a textbook example of the difficulties in dealing with a psychiatric claim. In fact, numerous courts in numerous jurisdictions have held that it is not a reasonable accommodation to eliminate stress from the job, because stress is inherent in most jobs. Of course, not all courts will reach this same result. The Court refused to grant the employer’s motion for summary judgment, finding the failure to accommodate claim needed to be decided by a jury. requiring the employer to provide coverage if she becomes overwhelmed with stress.allowing her to play soothing music and.allowing 10-minute breaks to go to a relaxation area.requiring the employer provide in writing how the teacher’s performance can be improved.allowing phone calls during work hours to medical clinicians for support.limiting the observations of her work to one class period a week, and include a second impartial reviewer. ![]() The physician assistant then recommended accommodations in the form of: The teacher went to a physician’s assistant, who diagnosed her with anxiety and depression over her concern about being fired. The Court was faced with a school teacher who was performing poorly and had objected to teaching a particular class. The United States District Court for South Dakota, on September 26, 2013, issued a decision reflecting how bad the situation can become. The possibilities are endless – and the possibilities for abuse are exponentially endless. Then, think about the kind of accommodations an employee might request, particularly for a stress disorder – come in late to work to avoid the stress of the commute, leave work early to avoid the stress of the commute, work at home where there is less stress and no commute, and work less hours to reduce stress. There is little to verify the diagnosis, and they are so broad, they can cover a significant part of the population. (We previously blogged about the revised DMS-5 earlier this year, here.) Looking at the diagnostic criteria, it becomes clear that much of it, if not all, is based on subjective complaints. Diagnoses include unspecified intellectual disability (essentially low IQ), unspecified depressive disorder, social anxiety disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder, binge-eating disorder, antisocial personality disorder, and general personality disorder, just to name a few. So how bad can it get? Take a look at the American Psychiatric Association DSM-5, the diagnostic bible for psychiatric conditions, which just came out this year. Employers are understandably reluctant to make a poor job performer’s job easier just because they say the job is stressful. While psychiatrists and psychologists will claim they can verify mental disorders, without x-rays or other physical test results, there may be doubts – particularly when the request for an accommodation comes from a poor job performer, as is often the case. Even hypertension and diabetes, while those conditions can’t be seen, they can be verified (or at least reliably tested for) by doctors. employers often are reluctant to meet their ADA obligations, because consciously or unconsciously, they doubt the disability is real.īlindness, deafness, bad backs, bad knees – employers can see and verify those conditions.they are hard – if not impossible – to verify,.Psychiatric conditions are very difficult to deal with: What’s an employer to do when an employee requests an accommodation due to chronic stress, particularly if the stress is from their work? In most cases, chronic stress and anxiety disorders are covered by the ADA. Essentially any chronic condition which significantly limits a bodily function is going to qualify, and cognitive thinking and concentration are bodily functions. It doesn’t take much these days for an employee to prove that a condition qualifies as a covered disability under the ADA. ![]()
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