Mental Illness Discrimination Claims After the New ADA Amendments
Strategies for Avoiding and Defending Americans With Disabilities Act Claims
Recording of a 90-minute CLE teleconference with Q&A
Conducted on Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Recorded event now available
This seminar will outline an employer’s legal obligations when an employee requests an accommodation due to a mental disorder and offer strategies to defend against mental illness discrimination claims.
Description
In recent years, workers requested accommodations for mental illness at an increasing rate under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Such requests may rise with the new ADA amendments effective Jan. 1, 2009. Employers find themselves poorly equipped to respond to this growing trend.
Employers lack clear guidance on which disorders qualify for ADA accommodation, whether employees with qualifying mental conditions can perform essential job functions, and how mental limitations can reasonably be accommodated in the workplace.
Employers must be familiar with the courts’ and EEOC’s interpretations of mental disabilities under the ADA to avoid costly mistakes and litigation.
Listen as our panel of employment law attorneys outlines best practices for employers when responding to an employee request for an accommodation due to a mental disorder and offers strategies for defending against mental illness discrimination claims.
Outline
- Responding to request for mental illness disability
- Confirm existence of disability
- “Qualifying disability”
- “Substantially limits major life activity”
- Determine whether employee is able to perform essential functions of job despite disability
- Conduct issues
- Employer obligation to provide “reasonable accommodation”
- Employee must initiate request for accommodation
- Interactive process between employer and employee
- Effective and reasonable accommodation
- Penalties
- Strategies for pursuing and defending against mental illness discrimination claims
- Undue hardship
- Good faith efforts to accommodate
- Effective use of experts
- Discovery issues
- Other strategies
Benefits
The panel will review these and other key questions:
- How should an employer respond to an employee's request for accommodation based on a mental condition?
- What are the employers' responsibilities for providing "reasonable accommodations" to an employee claiming a mental disorder?
- What are the best practices for employers to defend against discrimination claims?
Faculty
Carol R. Miaskoff, Assistant Legal Counsel, Coordination
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Washington, D.C.
She was the primary drafter of the Commission’s guidance on the ADA and psychiatric disabilities. She is co-author of "Coverage of Psychiatric Disorders Under the Americans With Disabilities Act."
Stephen P. Sonnenberg, Partner
Paul Hastings, New York
He has counseled and defended employers in a variety of discrimination matters. He is a former psychotherapist and has particular expertise in mental disabilities under the ADA.
Jonathan R. Mook, Partner
Dimuro Ginsberg, Alexandria, Va.
He is a nationally recognized authority on the ADA and author of two treatises on the topic. He lectures nationally on the ADA and other employment law topics.
Ordering
Online CLE - Audio Recording
Includes streaming audio of full program plus handouts (available 24 hours after live program).
CLE:
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Online CLE Audio $149.00
Available 24 hours after the live event
Recorded Event
Includes full event recording plus handouts (available after live seminar).
CLE: Pre-approved for self-study credit in: AK, AZ, CA, CT, HI, MO, MT, NY, TX*, VT, WA, WV. Upon request, self-study credit is also available in: CO, FL, GA, ID*, KY, ME, ND, NE, NH, NM, NV, OR, UT, WI, WY. If you are applying for self-study credit in one of these states, contact Strafford CLE at 1-800-926-7926 ext. 35 or CLE@straffordpub.com. (*Indicates that Strafford needs to process the CLE — see below to purchase this option.)
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Available 24 hours after the live event
CD $49.00
plus $9.45 S&H
Available ten business days after the live event
CLE Credit
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Customer Reviews
A very good nuts and bolts program on what to do in this area.
Carol Babbitt
The Law Office of Carol Coplan Babbitt
I appreciated that the program was directly on point and did not deviate from the subject matter.
Paul Deyhle
McDonald Carano Wilson
I liked that the speakers were brief, but hit on relevant cases and issues and answered listener questions effectively.
Lauren Hager
Korshak Kracoff Kong & Sugano
The program provided me with some key concerns to watch out for.
Bonita Paul
Milbank
All the speakers seemed extremely knowledgeable on the subject matter. Overall a very good seminar.
Stephan R. Silen
American AgCredit
Employment & ERISA Advisory Board
Partner
Littler Mendelson
Partner
Perkins Coie
Partner
Wick Phillips
Shareholder
Littler Mendelson
Partner
Bracewell & Giuliani
Shareholder
Greenberg Traurig
Partner
Gibson Dunn & Crutcher
Partner
Gladstone Michel Weisberg Willner & Sloane
Shareholder
Greenberg Traurig
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