Over 59 million American adults have at least one mental illness. That’s more than 23% of the nation’s adult population. The severity of mental illnesses ranges from mild to severe, and the highest percentage of adults impacted by mental illness are between the ages of 18 to 25 (36.2%). 

If you look at California’s statistics, about one in six adults have dealt with a mental health condition, and about one in 24 struggle to complete daily activities because of it. Three out of five adults never receive counseling or treatment for their mental illness.

Women are more likely to experience severe distress than men. They’re also more likely to seek help with their mental health. Health insurance that covers mental health plays a role in this, and it’s one way employers can support their workers to ensure equality in the workplace and avoid discrimination claims related to mental illness. Shegerian Conniff is here to help you navigate situations like these and keep the workplace a safe and inclusive space.

The California Fair Employment and Housing Act and Mental Health Conditions

Two key laws protect workers with mental health conditions. The first is the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA). FEHA protects workers from discrimination and harassment related to several protected classes including:

• Age (40+)
• Ancestry
• Color
• Creed
• Denial of family and medical care leave
• Disability – both physical and mental
• Gender
• Marital status
• Nationality
• Race
• Religion
• Sexual orientation

The key protection to take a closer look at is mental disability. Mental disability is defined as “any mental or psychological disorder, including organic brain syndrome, emotional or mental illness, or specific learning disabilities.” Some disorders, such as addiction, sexual behavior disorders, kleptomania, and pyromania are not protected mental disorders.

Anxiety (18%) is the most common mental health condition in U.S. adults according to the National Institute of Mental Health. Depression (9.5%), ADHD (4%), and bipolar disorder (2.6%) are the three additional most common. If a worker has been professionally diagnosed and has a record of a mental illness, employers cannot discriminate against them.

The law applies to any workplace with at least five employees, regardless if those employees are part- or full-time workers. If the complaint is related to harassment related to a mental health condition, the workplace needs only to have at least one employee.

During interviews and hiring practices, an employer cannot eliminate candidates with a history of mental health issues unless it’s an important part of the job. If a candidate applied for EMT training and was diagnosed with PTSD after a serious car accident, that candidate may struggle to perform the job duties necessary at the scene of a crash. That’s one area where mental health could impact the ability to do the job.

The Americans with Disabilities Act and Mental Health Conditions

California’s FEHA helps protect workers, but there’s also the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to consider. The ADA protects workers with the ADA Amendments Act of 2008, which includes psychiatric disabilities under disability protections offered to American workers. 

There are two key rights under the ADA. Workers have a right to privacy regarding their mental health unless they ask for an accommodation. The other is that they have the right to accommodations in the workplace unless that accommodation causes undue hardship for the employer. That means the accommodation would cost too much or leave the business shorthanded.

Understanding How Reasonable Accommodations Relate to a Worker with a Mental Health Condition

If a worker has a mental health condition and requests accommodations, those accommodations must be met if they’re reasonable. For example, a data entry specialist with severe social anxiety asks to work in an office instead of at the front desk in the main lobby. There’s an existing office that isn’t being used, which makes it a reasonable request.

Suppose a prospective employee is perfect for the job, but that worker needs to leave an hour early every Thursday for therapy. The employee is willing to come in an hour earlier to make up for it. That’s a reasonable accommodation that a workplace could grant when hiring a worker.

Examples of Real Cases Involving Mental Health Discrimination Lawsuits

Those are the protections for prospective or current workers with mental health disabilities. What creates a discrimination claim? We’ve summarized some recent cases that demonstrate what can go wrong.

• EEOC vs. Honda of Covington (Hollingswood Richards LLC)

After an employee alerted her management that she had ADHD and took a prescription medication to manage it, her manager told her to stop taking it and demanded she pass a drug test. She was fired before the drug test results returned. She received a $100,000 settlement.

• EEOC vs. Interconnect Cable Technologies Corporation

One of Interconnect Cable’s employees was diagnosed and hospitalized with a major depressive disorder. After her hospitalization ended, she returned to work to learn she was being demoted with a pay cut. Four months later they fired her. She was awarded an undisclosed amount of money.

• EEOC vs. Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of Georgia

In 2021, Kaiser Foundation paid $130,000 in a settlement with a worker who experienced extreme anxiety with revolving doors. She requested an accommodation to use a non-revolving door as her entrance into the workplace. Kaiser Foundation refused her request and forced her to use the revolving doors if she wanted to keep her job.

How Should California Employers Proceed?

Employers must know that some of their employees are impacted by mental health and may need accommodations at some point. Employers should have clear guidelines on how to talk to management or HR about a mental health diagnosis and how to request accommodations.

Your managers and supervisors should undergo training to ensure they understand how to address mental health issues when an employer approaches them. They need to know how best to support a worker in distress. One of the worst things is to refuse to listen to or support someone with depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, or another mental health condition. Phrases like “it’s all in your head, go back to work and stop thinking about it…” are not helpful.

Make sure you have documents posted on how mental health conditions are supported in your workplace. The work environment needs to be inclusive and supportive. 

What If You’re a Worker with a Mental Health Condition Undergoing Discrimination?

What do you do if you have a mental health condition and face discrimination in the workplace? For example, you have panic attacks that medication helps with, but you need to take that medication on time. Your floor supervisor refuses to let you take a break to go take your medications telling you that you’re faking it. What can you do?

You have bipolar disorder and your co-workers make jokes about you being crazy. It hurts but asking them to stop does nothing. You dread going to work now and often call in sick. Does that count as discrimination?

You suffer from PTSD and have an emotional support animal that helps you through stressful situations. Your employer refuses to allow you to bring your trained dog to work. Is that legal or are you allowed to bring your emotional support animal to work?

The best way to address discrimination when you have a mental health condition is to talk to a California employment law specialist. Shegerian Conniff provides free consultations to discuss your situation to determine if it’s discrimination in the workplace or not. If we feel you have a valid case, our employment discrimination employees will discuss the next steps with you. Reach us online or by phone to schedule your free consultation.