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Mental or Nervous disorders

HR IN ALHR IN AL 37 Posts
in HR & Employment Law Vote Up0Vote Down
I have a question for all you HR guru's out there.

How would each of you handle getting a post offer physical result backing saying the person had Bipolar Disorder?

The job requires interaction among co-workers . Sometimes job is stressful. I know overall the person could do the job. Any thoughts on this? Is there any way to address with the potential candidate?

I will admit that I need answers because everything I know about Bipolar comes from my sister who will not take her medication correctly and I know her work history and this tends to make me biased.

Just any thoughts from people who have handled different situations.
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  • 6 Comments sorted by Votes Date Added
  • lrobblrobb 67 Posts
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    At a prior employer this happened to me. ee disclosed during physical. Corporate attorney said if the ee was ok during physical and interview then we would maintain the hire. Guy worked well for over a year. Then fell apart off duty for not being compliant with meds.
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  • SMaceSMace 1,481 Posts
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    Our post offer physical would include whether the doc determines if they can perform the essential functions of the job. That's why you get it done. If the doc doesn't disqualify them, I wouldn't worry about it.

    If you disqualified the candidate at this point, you could set yourself up for an ADA suit. They could allege that you regarded the person as disabled and sue your tail off.

    To take the line of a former participant on this forum, imagine yourself in a deposition being asked what medical training you have in order to make the decision that this person can't work. Your reply would be, "Well my sister had some problems, so I figured this person would to."

    That route violates the very heart of ADA.
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  • Myrna MinkoffMyrna Minkoff 37 Posts
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    I couldn't agree more. The ADA was designed specifically to prohibit employers from making assumptions about what things an employee may or may not be able to do because of a disability. Making assumptions about an employee's potential limitations is just opening the door to a "regarded as" claim (and one that would be difficult to defend).

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  • HR IN ALHR IN AL 37 Posts
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    Thanks for all responses. I had no intention of violating the ADA. I was simply asking if there was anything that anyone could add to the situation that I wasn't aware of.
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  • Tammy BinfordTammy Binford 22 Posts
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    Just want to let you know about an upcoming audio conference on managing employees with mental disorders. It will be at 11 a.m. Eastern time on May 1. See [url]http://www.hrhero.com/audio/mental_disorders/?[/url] for a complete description of the program.

    Tammy Binford
    Editor, M. Lee Smith Publishers
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  • stilldazedstilldazed 640 Posts
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    Agree with Mace. You're not looking for a diagnosis. You're looking for fitness for duty and whether the person can perform essential duties with or w/o reasonable accomodation. Unfortunately, now you know the dx. That means 2 things as far as I see: 1) if the disorder is controlled with meds, it is not a disability under ADA (it is remediated, like corrective lenses remediate poor vision), 2) you now have an increased responsibility to ensure privacy of the info so the worker doesn't get branded by coworkers.

    best wishes
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