What Are Your Rights at Work When You're Depressed?

Table of ContentsView All

View All

Table of Contents

What Is a Mental Impairment?

Substantial Limitation

Drug and Alcohol Abuse

Reasonable Accommodation

Disclosing Your Condition

Dealing With Discrimination

Next in Depression Guide

Close

If you have a mental disorder such as major depression, you may wonder what your rights are when you apply for a job or are up for a promotion.

Obviously, if you had a physical disability it wouldn’t be legal for an employer to discriminate against you, thanks to the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA), which came into effect in 1992 to prevent private employers, state and local governments, employment agencies, and labor unions from discriminating against people with disabilities.

It applies to job application procedures, hiring, firing, advancement, compensation, job training, and more. Businesses or companies with 15 or more employees are required to comply with the ADA.

If you or a loved one are struggling with depression, contact theSubstance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) National Helplineat1-800-662-4357for information on support and treatment facilities in your area.For more mental health resources, see ourNational Helpline Database.

If you or a loved one are struggling with depression, contact theSubstance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) National Helplineat1-800-662-4357for information on support and treatment facilities in your area.

For more mental health resources, see ourNational Helpline Database.

The ADA, along with the 2008 amendment, states that persons qualify for disability if they:

Should You Tell Your Boss If You Have a Mental Health Condition?

Even if these conditions aren’t continual, but cause flare-ups of impairment, they qualify under the ADA as long as the disorder is considered a long-term problem.

Usually a condition has to be present for several months before it qualifies as a long-term problem. Disorders that are included in the definition of disability are those that are permanent or have potentially long-term effects, not those that are temporary such as the break up of a relationship.

Becauseself-medicationwith drugs and alcohol is so common among people with depression, it is important to note that the ADA does not cover those with asubstance abuseproblem. Any employee with a substance abuse problem can be held to the same standards as other employees. If your employer does not know about your depression and then later discovers a substance abuse problem, you will not be protected.

Under the ADA, employers are required to make what is called a “reasonable accommodation,” one of your rights, for people with a known disability as long as it doesn’t create an undue hardship such as significant difficulty or expense for the company.

Examples of reasonable accommodation for an employee with depression include a flexible work schedule or job sharing; time off for therapy orsupport group meetings; a quiet or out-of-the way workspace; extended leave after ahospitalization; and allowing the worker to work at home periodically.

Negotiating Reasonable AccommodationsIf you need to negotiate reasonable accommodations for yourself, here are some questions to consider:What is your most difficult task at work? What would make it easier?Does any part of your job make your depression symptoms better or worse?Is there anything in your workplace that causes distraction?Would a modified work week be helpful? For example, decreasing your hours?Is telecommuting possible with your job, either full time or on certain days?

Negotiating Reasonable Accommodations

If you need to negotiate reasonable accommodations for yourself, here are some questions to consider:What is your most difficult task at work? What would make it easier?Does any part of your job make your depression symptoms better or worse?Is there anything in your workplace that causes distraction?Would a modified work week be helpful? For example, decreasing your hours?Is telecommuting possible with your job, either full time or on certain days?

If you need to negotiate reasonable accommodations for yourself, here are some questions to consider:

Is Depression a Disability?

If you’ve been diagnosed with depression, it’s up to you to tell your boss or manager and to ask for whatever accommodations you need to be able to do your work.

It may be hard to do this, given the stigma and misconceptions that surround mental illness. But it’s much better to be upfront and to get what you need, rather than risk poor performance reviews or even losing your job because you’ve decided to tough it out.

If you suspect you’ve been discriminated against because of your mental health condition, contact the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to file a complaint. A charge of discrimination generally must be filed within 180 days. You may have up to 300 days to file a charge if there is a state or local law that provides relief for discrimination on the basis of disability.

To file a charge of discrimination contact anyEEOC Field Offices. These offices are located in cities throughout the United States.

If it’s found you’ve been discriminated against, you’re entitled to a remedy that will place you in the position you would have been in if the discrimination had never occurred. You may be entitled to hiring, promotion, reinstatement, back pay, or reasonable accommodation, including reassignment. You may also be entitled to attorneys fees.

As with disclosure, remember that the ADA is designed to help people like you. Not only are you standing up for your rights when you claim the protection of the disability act, you’re setting an example that will help others with mental illness avoid discrimination due to an illness they never asked to have to cope with.

How to Deal With Anxiety at Work

5 SourcesVerywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division.Amendment of Americans With Disabilities Act Title II and Title III Regulations To Implement ADA Amendments Act of 2008. Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 155.Equip for Equality.Legal Brief No. 13: Invisible Disabilities and the ADA. DBTAC Great Lakes ADA Center; 2010.Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division.Title 29 Subtitle B Chapter XIV Part 1630. Regulations to implement the Equal Employment Provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act.U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Depression,PTSD, & other mental health conditions in the workplace: Your legal rights.U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.Time limits for filing a charge.Additional ReadingDavidson L.The recovery movement: implications for mental health care and enabling people to participate fully in life.Health Affairs. 2016. 35(6):1091-7. doi:10.1377/hlthaff.2016.0153Petrila J.Law & psychiatry: Has the ADA been reborn as a tool of broad community change for people with mental disabilities?.Psychiatr Serv. 2014;65(7):847-9. doi:10.1176/appi.ps.201400174Petrila J.Congress restores the Americans with Disabilities Act to its original intent.Psychiatry Services. 2009. 60(7):878-9. doi:10.1176/appi.ps.60.7.878U.S. Equal Opportunity Employment Commission.ADA Amendments Act of 2008.U.S. Equal Opportunity Employment Commission.EEOC Enforcement Guidance on the Americans with Disabilities Act and Psychiatric Disabilities.

5 Sources

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division.Amendment of Americans With Disabilities Act Title II and Title III Regulations To Implement ADA Amendments Act of 2008. Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 155.Equip for Equality.Legal Brief No. 13: Invisible Disabilities and the ADA. DBTAC Great Lakes ADA Center; 2010.Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division.Title 29 Subtitle B Chapter XIV Part 1630. Regulations to implement the Equal Employment Provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act.U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Depression,PTSD, & other mental health conditions in the workplace: Your legal rights.U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.Time limits for filing a charge.Additional ReadingDavidson L.The recovery movement: implications for mental health care and enabling people to participate fully in life.Health Affairs. 2016. 35(6):1091-7. doi:10.1377/hlthaff.2016.0153Petrila J.Law & psychiatry: Has the ADA been reborn as a tool of broad community change for people with mental disabilities?.Psychiatr Serv. 2014;65(7):847-9. doi:10.1176/appi.ps.201400174Petrila J.Congress restores the Americans with Disabilities Act to its original intent.Psychiatry Services. 2009. 60(7):878-9. doi:10.1176/appi.ps.60.7.878U.S. Equal Opportunity Employment Commission.ADA Amendments Act of 2008.U.S. Equal Opportunity Employment Commission.EEOC Enforcement Guidance on the Americans with Disabilities Act and Psychiatric Disabilities.

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division.Amendment of Americans With Disabilities Act Title II and Title III Regulations To Implement ADA Amendments Act of 2008. Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 155.Equip for Equality.Legal Brief No. 13: Invisible Disabilities and the ADA. DBTAC Great Lakes ADA Center; 2010.Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division.Title 29 Subtitle B Chapter XIV Part 1630. Regulations to implement the Equal Employment Provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act.U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Depression,PTSD, & other mental health conditions in the workplace: Your legal rights.U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.Time limits for filing a charge.

Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division.Amendment of Americans With Disabilities Act Title II and Title III Regulations To Implement ADA Amendments Act of 2008. Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 155.

Equip for Equality.Legal Brief No. 13: Invisible Disabilities and the ADA. DBTAC Great Lakes ADA Center; 2010.

Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division.Title 29 Subtitle B Chapter XIV Part 1630. Regulations to implement the Equal Employment Provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Depression,PTSD, & other mental health conditions in the workplace: Your legal rights.

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.Time limits for filing a charge.

Davidson L.The recovery movement: implications for mental health care and enabling people to participate fully in life.Health Affairs. 2016. 35(6):1091-7. doi:10.1377/hlthaff.2016.0153Petrila J.Law & psychiatry: Has the ADA been reborn as a tool of broad community change for people with mental disabilities?.Psychiatr Serv. 2014;65(7):847-9. doi:10.1176/appi.ps.201400174Petrila J.Congress restores the Americans with Disabilities Act to its original intent.Psychiatry Services. 2009. 60(7):878-9. doi:10.1176/appi.ps.60.7.878U.S. Equal Opportunity Employment Commission.ADA Amendments Act of 2008.U.S. Equal Opportunity Employment Commission.EEOC Enforcement Guidance on the Americans with Disabilities Act and Psychiatric Disabilities.

Davidson L.The recovery movement: implications for mental health care and enabling people to participate fully in life.Health Affairs. 2016. 35(6):1091-7. doi:10.1377/hlthaff.2016.0153

Petrila J.Law & psychiatry: Has the ADA been reborn as a tool of broad community change for people with mental disabilities?.Psychiatr Serv. 2014;65(7):847-9. doi:10.1176/appi.ps.201400174

Petrila J.Congress restores the Americans with Disabilities Act to its original intent.Psychiatry Services. 2009. 60(7):878-9. doi:10.1176/appi.ps.60.7.878

U.S. Equal Opportunity Employment Commission.ADA Amendments Act of 2008.

U.S. Equal Opportunity Employment Commission.EEOC Enforcement Guidance on the Americans with Disabilities Act and Psychiatric Disabilities.

Meet Our Review Board

Share Feedback

Was this page helpful?Thanks for your feedback!What is your feedback?HelpfulReport an ErrorOtherSubmit

Was this page helpful?

Thanks for your feedback!

What is your feedback?HelpfulReport an ErrorOtherSubmit

What is your feedback?