Assessing Employee Impairments
Jeffrey S. Klein and Nicholas J. Pappas write that the recent Germanwings tragedy is an extreme example, but it serves as an apt reminder of an important question: When faced with an employee or job applicant who has displayed troubling behavior, raising concerns of mental health issues, what should an employer do?
May 31, 2015 at 10:00 PM
11 minute read
The original version of this story was published on New York Law Journal
When an employee displays troubling behavior that raises questions of mental health issues, employers frequently confront a balancing act of two legitimate, and often seemingly conflicting, interests. On the one hand, employers certainly wish to be sensitive to the plight of the employee and, of course, comply with employment laws protecting individuals with disabilities. On the other hand, employers simultaneously must make the necessary assessment to protect the safety of the employee's co-workers, and others with whom the employee may come into contact while on the job, as well as the employee's own health and safety.
A disastrous instance of this delicate and oftentimes difficult situation surfaced this past March when a pilot crashed his Germanwings flight into a French mountainside, killing himself and the 149 others aboard the plane. Investigatory reports following the crash revealed that the pilot had suffered from mental health issues, including severe depression, in prior years, and that his psychological troubles had seemingly spiked in the time leading up to the crash. The Germanwings tragedy is an extreme example, but it serves as an apt reminder of an important question: When faced with an employee or job applicant who has displayed troubling behavior, raising concerns of mental health issues, what should an employer do?
In this month's column, we examine the federal law governing how employers may address workplace safety concerns emanating from employee mental health issues, and offer some suggestions as to ways in which employers might approach such situations.
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
Trending Stories
- 1The Law Firm Disrupted: For Big Law Names, Shorter is Sweeter
- 2Wine, Dine and Grind (Through the Weekend): Summer Associates Thirst For Experience in 'Real Matters'
- 3'That's Disappointing': Only 11% of MDL Appointments Went to Attorneys of Color in 2023
- 4What We Know About the Kentucky Judge Killed in His Chambers
- 5'I'm Staying Everything': Texas Bankruptcy Judge Halts Talc Trials Against J&J
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250