0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
To effectively manage an employee's medical problem, such as diagnosed depression, employers must have a coordinated program to handle leave time, medical expenses, accommodations, and return to work. Development of a comprehensive program by an employer must comply with:20
* The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA)
* The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA) or any state leave law that is more favorable to employees than the FMLA
* Health insurance parity laws in mental health services
* State workers' compensation laws
Unfortunately, these federal and state laws were enacted separately and with minimal consideration of other laws, leading to complications in compliance. However, according to the Bureau of National Affairs, most employers who understand the laws and make reasonable modifications of company policies and procedures can successfully comply as well as decrease expenses incurred due to sick leave, disability leave, or workers' compensation claims.21
The following summaries of the ADA, FMLA, workers' compensation laws, and mental health insurance parity laws are not intended to be comprehensive. They focus primarily on aspects of the laws which employers should understand in order to design and coordinate policy and procedures which will be in legal compliance.
AMERICAN WITH DISABILITIES ACT 1990 (ADA)22
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is one of the most significant employment laws in U.S. history and a watershed in the history of disability rights:** All employers with 15 or more employees, including for-profit and non-profit businesses, state and local governments, religious entities, and the United States Congress must comply with the ADA.
* The ADA outlaws discrimination against people with disabilities in nearly every domain of public life: employment, transportation, communication, recreational activities, and other areas of accommodation.
* Disability rights advocates celebrated passage of the ADA, hailing it as the most far-reaching legislation ever enacted against discrimination on the basis of disability.
* The preamble to the law, states that it covers 43,000,000 Americans. However, because of the increasingly inclusive definition of who is disabled, this number may be larger.
** The ADA had overwhelmingly bipartisan support in Congress. Previous disability rights legislation had largely been ignored by the media, which showered attention on the ADA's passage and its early implementation. Executive branch agencies prepared required regulations. Businesses geared up for compliance and voiced concerns about the lack of guidance, cost, and the risk of litigation. A new industry emerged, marketing ADA expertise and technical assistance. 23
EMPLOYMENT DISCRIMINATION OUTLAWED UNDER THE ADA
Title I of the ADA prohibits discrimination against a "qualified individual with a disability" with regard to job application procedures, hiring, training, compensation, fringe benefits, advancements, or any other term or condition of work. An employer cannot discriminate in any aspect of employment because of a job applicant's or employee's disability.24
