Manic-depressive: ADA or not?
cebudragonlady
405 Posts
Doe this fall under ADA ? We are under 50 employees, so I know FMLA doesn't apply. One of our employees is manic-depressive, is supposed to take his medicine ( but I don't think he does ), and drinks off the job. On the job,
yesterday, we had to send him home -as his condition presented safety issues
as he operates machinery. The factory supervisor gave the employee a warning about attendance. This employee may be terminated by the VP.Please advise.
yesterday, we had to send him home -as his condition presented safety issues
as he operates machinery. The factory supervisor gave the employee a warning about attendance. This employee may be terminated by the VP.Please advise.
Comments
Anne Williams
Attorney Editor
M. Lee Smith Publishers, LLC
reasonable accommodation for it to be a disability.
The actual provisions in the State's law is in the Government Code, the Fair Employment and Housing Act.
[url]http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/waisgate?WAISdocID=0806409466+1+0+0&WAISaction=retrieve[/url]
California's Department of Fair Employment and Housing has some information on the anti-disability in discrimination provisions, reasonable accommodation
and risk issues. An emplyer may consider the emplyee not qualified for a job if he or she presents an immediate and substantial danger to him/herself or others in the performance of the job. But it has to be more than speculative and potential.
[url]http://www.dfeh.ca.gov/Statutes/employerdiscrimination.asp[/url]
[url]http://www.dfeh.ca.gov/Statutes/empaccommodation.asp[/url]
And take a look at EEOC's guidance on psychiatric disabilities and reasonable accommodations. I think it will provide very good guidance on how to deal with psychiatric disabilities and reasonable accommodations and the risk issue. Just remember that in California, the threshold is lower for a medical condition becoming a disability and requiring reasonable accommodation and the assessment is made without regard to medication or other remedial measures. It has been said that just about any medical condition could qualify in California as a disability even though it wouldn't under federal ADA.
Look at the discussion in the EEOC Guidance on Direct Threats.
[url]http://www.eeoc.gov/docs/psych.html[/url]
Since you have identified that the employee is manic-depressive, I assume your company is either regarding the employee as having the psychiatric condition or has verified it through medical documentation. You're not required to disregard documented and valid safety issues if the employee would present an immediate, substantial danger to himself or others in the performance of his duties even if they are caused by a disability.
Good Luck!
This is a pretty old thread that I'm just reading. My word of caution would be that if you are proceeding toward somehow impacting the company owner's comfort level, the 'direct threat' will likely be toward YOU!