Employment Law Attorney in Minneapolis, Minnesota

Should an Employer Offer Help?

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So, we talked about two unique things about disability and obligations of employers, and there’s two other unique things. If I were to walk up to you as an employee and say, “Gee, I noticed you’re depressed.” From that moment on now you believe that I consider you disabled. And if we have a disconnect after that you’re going to worry if that’s because I perceive you as disabled, and if I ultimately an employer in court trying to fight about that it’s not going to look good that I cared if you were depressed or not.

What I should care about is how do I make you your best performer to achieve the obligations of the company? The mission of the company is probably a better thing so say. So, to specifically answer your question, should you walk up and say, “How can I help?” You have to do that very carefully. For example say, “Maybe I should give you disability leave.” That wouldn’t be a good idea ’cause now I’m telling you I think something’s wrong with you. Instead you might say, “I notice normally you’re here right on time and lately you’ve been here 10 or 15 minutes early. Should we talk – or late. Should we talk about a change of schedule? Or do you need some other help?”

Minneapolis and St. Cloud employment law attorney Sheila Engelmeier describes the challenges of employers labeling employees with mental health issues.

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