When Stress/Depression Causes You Legal Concerns: FMLA, ADA, and Workers' Compensation

Why Should You Attend:

Unlike physical disabilities, mental disabilities are difficult to diagnose. Many times, mental disabilities are diagnosed after symptoms continue and physical causes are eliminated. A diagnosis is based on the patient’s description of symptoms. Unfortunately, some employees know how to abuse the fact that symptoms can be faked when these conditions are all too real to others.

• What are the employer’s obligations when an employee calls in saying, “I’m too stressed to come to work today,” and this happens for several days?
• Does this qualify for FMLA?
• Do you ask for a medical certification?
• Could this be a workers’ compensation situation?
• What if an employee comes to you and says that his/her supervisor is malicious and that he/she just can’t handle the stress and harassment?
• Can this depression become disabling to qualify for ADA treatment?
• How do you handle employees who have already been diagnosed with one of these conditions when you hire them or get a diagnosis of one of the conditions after becoming employed?

This training program will address the questions and doubts listed above along with discussions on handling employees diagnosed with bipolar disorder and borderline personality disorder.

Areas Covered in the Webinar:

• Is there a difference between stress and depression?
• Can everyday stress and depression become debilitating?
• Can an employee qualify for FMLA leave when the employee feels that his/her job is too stressful?
• What is the difference between depression and major depression?
• Does the ADA consider depression a disability? What about major depression?
• What is bipolar disorder? Why is there a rise in the diagnosis of bipolar disorder?
• How are the EEOC and the courts treating bipolar disorder within the meaning of the ADA?
• What is borderline personality disorder?
• How are the EEOC and the courts treating borderline personality disorder?
• What is post-traumatic stress disorder?
• When do any of these conditions, if ever, qualify for workers’ compensation benefits?
• Can you require an employee to seek medical treatment if you feel that the employee is demonstrating behavior that is threatening or dangerous to others?
• When can you request an employee to seek treatment through the EAP?
• Can you require an employee to stay on his/her medication? What are your rights if the employee fails to take his/her medication?

Who Will Benefit:

• Labor and employment law in house counsel
• Human resource managers
• Human resource personnel
• Hiring managers
• Business owners
• Ethics officers

Instructor Profile:

Susan Fahey Desmond is a shareholder in the New Orleans office of Jackson Lewis, a national labor and employment law firm with offices in 59 cities across the country. She has been representing management in all areas of labor and employment law for over 25 years. She is listed in Best Lawyers in America for labor and employment law and has been named by U.S. Chambers as one of America’s leading business lawyers. Ms. Desmond is a frequent speaker and author in many topics of labor and employment law.

Topic Background:

We all feel stressed and depressed from time to time. Most of the time the stress and the depression is short lived, and we go about our daily lives with little or no fanfare. But when does that stress or depression become a medical issue that a medical professional says that an employee cannot perform the essential functions of his/her job. What happens if the doctor says that the employee’s job or supervisor was the triggering factor of the stress or depression? Could this be a workers’ compensation situation? When does depression become major depression or bipolar disorder such as to qualify as a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act? How can you tell? The conditions are not ones that you can eye ball but there are symptoms. These symptoms do not always, however, mean that the individual may have one of these conditions.

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