Are required mental health treatments hours worked?

HR questions

As a result of certain undesirable behaviors, we are requiring a non-exempt employee to attend mental health treatments (anger management) as a condition of his employment. These treatments/sessions take place after the employee's normal working hours.

Does anyone have an opinion as to whether or not the time spent in the sessions is "hours worked?" What about the travel time?

To add a layer of complexity, what if the company requires, as a condition of employment, the employee to comply with the recommendations of his therapist? If the therapist says that the employee should attend AA meetings three times a week, is all of the time spent in AA sessions hours worked? What about the travel time? What if the therapist says that the employee needs regular physical exercise? Are workouts then hours worked? Help!

Don D

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 07-01-02 AT 10:47AM (CST)[/font][p]There's always the possibility that your state may have some regulation that touches on this; but, in our state, if you're requiring this as a condition of continued employment it is not treated as time worked. I liken this to an ee who has tested positive being required to attend something on his own time and be subject to your retesting procedures. There's no additional pay for that. It's his option: comply with the employer's program of trying to retain him through behavioral upgrade or seek other employment. Unemployment Insurance is probably handled 12 different ways if you terminate for refusal to go along with your program of discipline. As for the AA attendance, once he has completed the program he is likely ADA covered and you must consider the accommodation of being late after lunch, for example, due to attendance at an AA meeting. AA meetings are generally at noon and at night and either cause the minor inconvenience of getting back a little late or going to the meeting at night on his own time, uncompensated. P.S: I might stay away from terming this 'mental health treatments' and simply call it anger management class.

Hatchetman

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 07-01-02 AT 01:14PM (CST)[/font][p]If you are just requiring the anger management classes, that would be no problem under FLSA. It wouldn't be work time since it is not part of his duties. However, if you have mandated this specific time and are going to hold the employee accountable for attending and have monitoring to see how he is doing, then it takes on the air of a duty and you may be required to pay it as worrk time. I would certainly review the matter with legal counsel if you've mandated theis specific class or time.

Regarding ordering him to comply with the recommendaitons of his therapist. stay away from that. How would you know what his therapist is telling him and what the recommendations are? If you inquire, you may be violating ADA. Just hold the employee acountable for not being under the influence of alcohol at work and for maintaining acceptable attendance. If the employee seeks accommodation, under ADA, becuase he has been through or is going through AA, then that's when you can verify. But at that point, it's not inquiring into what the therapist said, but rather verifying rehabilitation.

Don D

I assumed your mention of AA perhaps instead meant 'a 12 step program', since you said nothing about alcoholism or the use of alcohol in your post, only anger. I wouldn't automatically assume the attendance of just any '12 step program' qualifies one for ADA coverage, although it certainly will with drug or alcohol recovery if its part of treatment. Enrolling in an anger management course followed by attendance with one of the ongoing 'group programs' more than likely will not meet ADA intent. Most of these programs are loosely based on the '12 step' model. My wife needs a 12-step program for shopping but she's not ADA covered after she enrolls, although I will be disabled if I mention this at the house. x:-(