Employment Law Attorney in Minneapolis, Minnesota Advice on Mental Health Disabilities for Employer
Advice on Mental Health Disabilities for Employer
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There’s, have I done everything I need to do as an employer to reasonably accommodate someone? Ask yourself that question before you terminate them. And do you have good paperwork that supports that you have done that. Second thing, realistically, has my attitude towards this employee changed since I noticed something’s a bit different? And if so, I think you might need to recalibrate and go back to part one. Have I done everything I can do to help them succeed?
The third thing you have to think about is other employees. How are you managing the morale issue? ‘Cause whenever you’re helping a certain employee other people thing, “Ooh, favored treatment.” So, you have to be thinking over here, hey, you know what? If you were in a situation where you needed some assistance with a flex schedule, or something else, for reasons that I’m not going to talk to you about ’cause that’s not your business you would expect for me, as your employer, to work with you to make you able to do the great work we’re doing for our customers. And so, you have to manage that. You can’t pretend that’s not there.
Minneapolis and St. Cloud employment law attorney Sheila Engelmeier discusses the importance of employers doing everything they can to reasonably accommodate employees with disabilities. She emphasized that employers should first ask themselves whether they have done everything reasonably possible to accommodate an employee before making the decision to terminate them. She explained that employers should also ensure they have proper documentation demonstrating that reasonable accommodations have been provided. In addition, she encouraged employers to reflect on whether their attitude toward the employee had changed after noticing differences in the employee’s behavior or performance, and if so, to reconsider whether they had truly done everything possible to help the employee succeed.
She also stressed the importance of considering the impact of accommodations on other employees in the workplace. She explained that coworkers may perceive accommodations as favoritism, which can affect workplace morale if not managed appropriately. Therefore, employers should communicate that accommodations are provided to support employees with legitimate needs, while respecting confidentiality, and that any employee in a similar situation would receive the same level of support to enable them to perform their work effectively.
