An article in HRHero, a legal resource for human resource professionals, expresses concern about the expanding diagnostic categories in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. “More employees may qualify for protection under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) than ever before, which means employers must be ready to address issues of mental disability accommodation,” writes Lisa Berg. She says employers should also be concerned about increasing numbers of lawsuits accusing discrimination based on these vague, broadening categories of mental disorders. “If you struggle with understanding whether you must accommodate an employee with a mental disorder, you’re not alone. The ADA has become a tricky law to navigate, and now that legal maze has become even more complicated.”
“The DSM-5 threatens to make the already complex task of complying with the ADA more difficult by forcing employers to determine whether and how to accommodate employees with the newly recognized mental conditions… which makes it easier to show that an impairment qualifies as a disability,” writes Berg.
New mental disorders could lead to spike in ADA claims (HRHero, July 20, 2014)
