Editor's Note
Anxiety, Life and the ADA
If you're not anxious these days, you're either not paying attention or have a much better sense of equanimity than I do. I admit that second thing is a fairly low bar. Worrying about everything all the time seems to come with the law license. Some of us were good at it even before law school. But I know I'm not alone.
Employers are facing a barrage of changing messaging from the federal government, including fear of threats and retaliation. Then there's the economic uncertainty as people and companies sit tight on spending decisions because of yo-yo actions on policy and shifting positions on tariffs. Everyone is concerned about spending money. This is bad for the economy, which makes everything worse. Lather, rinse, repeat.
Nobody knows what to do. It's impossible to assess either risk or return in an environment when there is no basis for to predict what might happen next. It is an extraordinarily difficult time to try to do business, pretty much any kind.
So employers are planning for the worst case scenario and going into survival mode. And that means employees are suddenly in survival mode too. We are definitely anxious.
I've been telling people I run a low grade terror most of the time. Fortunately, I'm also excellent at dissociation. I wish I could tell you something that would help. But we'll just have to do the best we can and see what happens. It's summed up in this dialogue from a book I just read:
It seems we have encountered an impossible task, my dear.
What do we do?
We keep going of course.
Of course.
In the meantime, it's important to take care of ourselves and each other in the ways that we can in the moment.
And in order for anxiety to qualify as a disability under the ADA, it takes a medical diagnosis for starters. Here's more from Parker Poe.
- Heather Bussing
Most human resource professionals can attest to meeting with employees who state that they are struggling with anxiety issues that affect their work performance. Does an employee’s disclosure of problems dealing with anxiety mean that the employer must try to accommodate those issues under the Americans with Disabilities Act? As any good lawyer will say, the answer is "it depends."
General anxiety is not an ADA disability. Everyone feels anxious at times, and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission guidance makes clear that an employee’s self-diagnosis of anxiety or depression does not mean that they have a mental condition that significantly interferes with a major life function. Anxiety can meet the definition of an ADA disability (or FMLA serious health condition), but only when such condition has been diagnosed by a medical professional.
This does not mean that HR professionals should ignore an employee’s expressions of anxiety or depression. The employee can be told that if he or she is experiencing mental health issues, the company can try to work with them to minimize the impact of that condition on their work. The first step in the process is for the employee to provide information from their medical provider stating the diagnosed condition, the anticipated recovery time, and identification of any accommodations that could assist the employee perform his or her essential job functions. If the employee requests leave due to the condition and is FMLA eligible, the employer should use the FMLA medical certification form to obtain this information.
In some circumstances, the employee’s self-diagnosis has not been confirmed by a medical professional. In the absence of such certification, employers are not legally required to treat the situation as an ADA disability. While the company may try to address an employee’s generalized expressions of anxiety, it does not have to engage in the interactive process required for ADA accommodations.
