Reasonable Accommodations for Depression and Other Mental Illnesses

The ADA, as well as the Minnesota Human Rights Act, requires all employers with 15 or more employees, to provide reasonable accommodations to a qualified individual with a disability. A "qualified individual" with a disability is one who, with or without reasonable accommodations, can perform the essential functions of his or her job. This is one reason why it is important to have a written definition of all job at your business.

There are no set definitions of what are reasonable accommodations, and what are unreasonable ones. They vary depending on the nature of the industry, the size of the employer, the individual's disability, and the accommodation requested.

The EEOC, and courts, have agreed that job restructuring and leave are reasonable accommodations. Both may be relevant to an individual suffering from depression, who might need time away from work to aid recovery. Job restructuring can be eliminating non-essential functions from an employee's job duties, or allowing a part-time schedule, if not overly burdensome to an employer. Changes in a supervisor's managerial style have been suggested as being reasonable accommodations, such as more feedback or more or less supervision. A leave of absence with no return date to work is not a reasonable accommodation, although a short-term leave is. What constitutes "short term" depends on the circumstances of each case. There is no easy answer. However, many courts have held that a short-term leave of 3 months, such as that allowed under the Family and Medical Leave Act, is reasonable.

A request for an accommodation should always be documented. And it should be followed by what is known as the "interactive process," a back and forth between the employee and the employer to find an accommodation that works for both sides. An employee isn't entitled to his or her first choice of an accommodation, but rather one that will allow him or her to perform the essential functions of the job and that isn't a burden to the employer.

The interactive process often is quite easy, such as acquiring an ergonomic keyboard for an employee with carpal tunnel syndrome, or allowing an employee with depression to take time off each week for appointments with therapists. Other times, the process can be quite complicated and sometimes leads to an impasse, meaning that the employee can be terminated if an accommodation can't be found that would not constitute an undue hardship for the employer.