ROBIN PAGGI: Managing mental disorders at work
| Friday, Aug 12 2011 12:00 PM
Last Updated Friday, Aug 12 2011 12:00 PM
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Robin Paggi
The National Alliance on Mental Illness released this startling statistic: One in four adults -- approximately 57.7 million Americans -- experience a mental health disorder in a given year.
These mental health disorders include:
* mood disorders such as major depressive, dysthymic (chronic mild depression), and bipolar disorders;
* anxiety disorders such as panic, obsessive-compulsive, post-traumatic stress, and generalized anxiety disorders as well as phobias;
* schizophrenia;
* eating disorders;
* attention deficit hyperactivity disorder;
* autism; and,
* Alzheimer's disease.
While most people with severe mental disorders do not work (NAMI reports that 70 to 90 percent are unemployed), many people with milder cases do work, and two court cases (one finding in favor of the employee, the other in favor of the employer) have given employers some insight on how to legally manage employees with mental disorders.
In the case of Gambini v. Total Renal Care, employee Stephanie Gambini suffered an emotional breakdown at work and was soon after diagnosed with bipolar disorder, court documents say. She revealed her illness to her employer and co-workers and asked that they not be offended by the mood swings she experienced because of the disorder, court documents indicate. Her symptoms gradually grew more severe, which negatively impacted her job performance, and she was summoned to a meeting with her supervisor and given a performance improvement plan.
According to court documents, Gambini "threw the performance plan across the desk and in a flourish of several profanities expressed her opinion that it was both unfair and unwarranted. Before slamming the door on her way out, (she) hurled several profanities at her supervisor" then kicked and threw things at her cubicle following the meeting. Gambini entered the hospital the next day and was approved for a medical leave of absence. The following day she was fired for what her employer called "violent outbursts," the documents say.
The district court that heard the case found in favor of the employer; however, the verdict was reversed by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which reasoned that, because Gambini's "violent outbursts" were symptomatic of her disorder, she was terminated because of it, which violated the Americans with Disabilities Act.
In the case of Wills v. The Superior Court of Orange County, employee Linda Wills also suffered from bipolar disorder, court documents say. During her employment, she took numerous medical leaves to treat the disorder, but never revealed to her employer the reason for the leaves. She did tell some of her supervisors that she suffered from depression. One day Wills became enraged at some co-workers and told them she had added them to her "Kill Bill" list (a reference to the Kill Bill movie in which the main character made a list of people she intended to kill), records say. The threat was reported to her superiors and Wills was removed from her position and placed on medical leave by her doctor a few days later. While on leave, Wills sent strange emails and ringtones to her co-workers that seemed to express anger toward them for supposedly betraying her, court documents say. After a few weeks, Wills was released to work; however, the OC Court put her on administrative leave and conducted an investigation into her actions.
Following the investigation, Wills was terminated for threatening her co-workers (among other things). In its termination notice to Wills, the OC Court explained that her conduct violated its employee handbook provisions prohibiting verbal threats, threatening behavior and violence. Wills sued claiming she was discriminated against because of her mental disability. In this case, the trial court found in favor of the employer because it demonstrated that Wills was terminated for a legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason.
Why did Gambini win her case and Wills lose hers? The answer is a lesson for employers about the definition of the term "violent" and of making employment decisions based upon established business policies.
In the Gambini case, court documents demonstrate that the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the district court's verdict for the employer because of a technicality -- the district court failed to instruct the jury that "conduct resulting from a disability is part of the disability and not a separate basis for termination." More importantly, the Court claimed that a jury could reasonably find the "requisite causal link" between Gambini's disability (which she informed her employer about) and her "violent outbursts" (such as kicking her cubicle), which resulted in her termination. Thus, the Court determined she was fired for her disability.
In the Wills case, court documents demonstrate that the trial court determined that her discrimination claim was invalid because Wills was terminated for a legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason -- she violated written policies prohibiting threats and violence in the workplace. Upon appeal, the California Appellate Court upheld an employer's right to terminate an employee for making violent threats or committing violent acts even if they are caused by a disability. In addition, the Court distinguished the Gambini case, where the employee's "violent outbursts" merely frightened her co-workers, from the Wills case, in which the employee actually threatened her co-workers with violence.
Employers wanting to avoid such lawsuits are encouraged to do the following:
* have clear, written rules of conduct that are job-related and consistent with business purposes;
* engage in the interactive process with employees who disclose a mental disorder to determine if a reasonable accommodation can be decided upon; and,
* make employment decisions (such as terminating an employee) based upon legitimate, nondiscriminatory, business-necessity reasons.
Statistics demonstrate that many people have or will have some kind of mental disorder during their lifetime. Fortunately, many disorders are manageable, allowing those who have them the ability to be successfully employed. Knowing how to legally manage employees with mental disorders helps employers be successful as well.
Robin Paggi is a Certified Human Resources Professional with KDG Human Resource Solutions, a division of the Klein, DeNatale, Goldner law firm. These are her opinions, not necessarily The Californian's.
