Mental Health Discrimination in Employment

Yes, the law prohibits most employers from discriminating against people with disabilities, including people with mental illness. The only employers who are not covered by a law are private employers with less than 15 employees who get no federal money. 

The law prohibiting discrimination says that an employer must not treat you differently because of a prejudiced view of people with mental illness or a history of mental illness. The law also states that employers must provide you with a reasonable accommodation if you need one in order to do your job or enjoy the same benefits of your job as an employee without disabilities. 

This means that your current or past mental illness should not keep you from getting or keeping a job. 

Like any other applicant for a job, you have to meet the basic qualifications in education and training. If, for example, the job requires a high school diploma, then you have to have graduated from high school or have gotten your G.E.D. You also need to be physically and mentally able to do the essential tasks of the job, either with or without reasonable accommodations. 

Reasonable accommodations are changes in the job application process and the work environment. Some examples are: 

• a later starting time (with a later leaving time as well) to accommodate morning medication problems,  

• other modifications of the work schedule,  

• elimination of some non-essential job duties,  

• additional training time and/or job assistance,  

• a workspace in a quiet location,  

• having your employer train your supervisor to provide you with instructions in the most constructive manner for you, 

• having your employer to educate your co-workers about psychiatric disabilities, and 

• extra unpaid leave to attend therapy.  

Lots of other things might also be reasonable accommodations. 

For more information, visit Asking for an Accommodation at Work provided by Disability Rights Texas. You can also use the Workplace Accommodation Request Tool to create a request that you can submit to your employer. 

Yes, you should, if you are the most qualified person for the job. 

The employer decides. But, if you have reason to believe that you were at least as qualified as the person hired, and that you were not hired because of your psychiatric disability, then you may want to file a complaint of discrimination. Complaints of discrimination are described in Disability Rights Texas’ Employment Discrimination handout. If you file a complaint, which is also called a “charge” of discrimination, the employer may have to explain to the investigating agency why the employer believes you were not the most qualified. 

You find jobs in a variety of ways–word of mouth, newspaper advertisements, the Texas Rehabilitation Commission (if you qualify for their services), and the Texas Workforce Commission. The people at those offices can also help you prepare a record of your work history (if you have one), and can give you advice about applying and interviewing for jobs. To learn more about Vocational Rehabilitation (VR), read Vocational Rehabilitation System in Texas. 

Usually not. Under the law, when you are applying for a job, you do not have to tell the employer about a disability, either physical or mental. The law also says that in most cases, the employer may not ask about any disability until after the employer offers you a job.  

So, if the employer asks you during the job application if you have a mental illness, if you have been hospitalized, or if you take medication or see a psychiatrist, you do not have to answer. 

You may also have good reason to file a complaint of employment discrimination if the employer asks those questions during your job application. Because you are not required to talk about your disability when you are applying for a job, many people choose not to talk about it until after they are hired and need some help because of their disability.  

However, some people with mental illness may choose to talk with the employer about it from the start. If, for example, the employer already knows about your mental illness or if you have symptoms that make your illness apparent, you may want to discuss the illness and symptoms and the accommodations that may be needed.  

If the employer is not prejudiced and wants to hire you, this may help him or her work things out so that you can do the job. However, although it is against the law, some employers are prejudiced and may not hire you because of your psychiatric disability. 

Not necessarily. The employer might guess that you have some type of mental disability or illness if you have symptoms from the illness, or if you have side-effects of medication that you are taking, that are obvious when you talk with an interviewer. If your resume indicates periods in your adult life when you were unemployed without explanation, the employer may ask why you were not working. 

Usually not. As discussed above, the employer normally cannot talk about this during the job application. The only time you need to bring this up before getting a job offer is if you need an accommodation in order to complete the application process itself. 

If a person’s disability is apparent–for example, the person uses a wheelchair–the employer may ask what accommodations might be needed. But many people with mental illness or a history of mental illness have no obvious symptoms, so the issue of disability should not come up very often. On the other hand, as mentioned above, the employer might guess that you have some type of mental disability or illness. If the employer asks you about whether you need accommodations and what they might be, you can choose to discuss that or not. If you do not wish to discuss accommodations at the interview, you should tell the employer that you prefer not to discuss it. The employer should then not ask you anything more about it. You have to decide if talking about accommodations in the interview will help or hurt your chance of getting and keeping the job. 

You probably won’t know for sure, but you might suspect it. You might suspect discrimination if the employer learns about your history of mental illness, or your treatment for mental illness, and afterwards the employer shows less interest in hiring you. Also, if you know that the qualifications of the person who was hired and your qualifications are as good or better, you have additional reason to wonder. You can ask the employer to explain why you did not get the job, but they do not have to give you an explanation. Only a governmental office that investigates employment discrimination, or your lawyer after a lawsuit has been filed in court, can force the employer to explain its actions. Disability Rights Texas’ separate Employment Discrimination handout explains more about the investigation process. 

If you need accommodations, you should tell your supervisor or the employer’s human resources officer. It is best to confirm your request in writing. The employer then needs to decide whether or not the accommodations you have requested are necessary for you to do your job, and whether they are reasonable. To create your own written accommodation request, use the Workplace Accommodation Request Tool. 

You can ask for help from your therapist, if you have one, or from others you know who have a psychiatric disability. You may also want to contact Disability Rights Texas or other advocacy groups with local chapters such as Texas Mental Health Consumers, Psychiatric Survivors Networks, the Alliance for the Mentally Ill, and Mental Health Associations. You might also look at the resources published by Boston University’s Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation, including their webpage on accommodations. The federal government has also established offices to provide advice on accommodations. They are the ADA Regional Disability and Business Technical Assistance Hotline at 800-949-4232 (voice/TDD) and the Job Accommodation Network at 800-ADA-WORK (800-232-9675)(voice/TDD).

The employer may simply agree to provide the accommodations you request. But, after you are hired and you have requested an accommodation, the employer does have the right to ask you to get a written statement from your doctor explaining your need for the accommodation. 

You should review Disability Rights Texas’ Employment Discrimination handout. It explains what you need to do, and when. It also explains what you can expect from the governmental investigation process. Filing a charge of discrimination is often only the beginning of a long process that may or may not end in your favor.