Success and implementation of the laws that reflect national policy and provide the legislative framework for effectively managing the impact of depressive disorders on the workplace depend on numerous individuals and organizations. Employers and employees who educate themselves about the law and comply voluntarily are most important. Consumer, advocacy, and business organizations can assist employers and employees by providing technical assistance, materials, and other forms of educational outreach. State and local governments, which must also comply with the Americans With Disabilities Act, families and medical leave laws, workers' compensation and mental health parity laws, can further extend knowledge of and compliance with the legislative framework, by dovetailing their programs and business support activities with the law.1
The role of the government
IMPLEMENTING LAW AND POLICY
Due to the fact that the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is arguably the most significant employment law in U.S. history, particularly with its identification of psychiatric disabilities, this section will focus on ADA implementation and policy.
The U.S. federal government plays a critical role in interpreting, translating, and implementing the ADA. The ADA requires the federal government to prepare regulations and guidelines to implement the law; to enforce the law; to assist those with rights and responsibilities under the law; and to coordinate enforcement and technical assistance efforts.2 The following are the primary government agencies and offices actively involved in enforcement, technical assistance, research, and dissemination of information for all psychiatric disabilities. Through their various activities, these agencies and offices offer support on mental health issues in the workplace to both employers and employees. Although the following organizations are the key government agencies in dissemination, technical assistance, and enforcement, they are not all equally involved in mental illness (e.g. depression) and employment. Some of their activities specific to depression and employment are subsumed under the larger framework of psychiatric disabilities and local community support.
* US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
* National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research
* Center for Mental Health Services
* National Institute of Mental Health
* President's Committee for the Employment of People with Disabilities
* National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)
EEOC was established by law in 1964.* EEOC enforces Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). EEOC receives a large number of charges under the ADA alleging employment discrimination based on a psychiatric disability. These charges raise a wide range of legal issues
