This study reports findings from an analysis of employment allegations and resolutions maintained in the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) database. Spanning the years 1992 to 2005, the data were aggregated for individuals with psychiatric disabilities and individuals with a variety of physical, sensory, and neurological disabilities. Compared to the general disabilities group, allegations from the psychiatric disabilities group were more frequently filed by people who were younger, female, and White. The psychiatric disabilities group was significantly more likely than the general disabilities group to file against Transportation and Utilities, Finance and related fields, Services, and Public Administration industries; larger employers; or employers from the Northeast and West regions. Allegations from the psychiatric disabilities group were significantly less likely to be deemed meritorious by the EEOC at the conclusion of the investigation process. Implications for psychiatric rehabilitation are discussed.
AlbrechtG.WalkerV.LevyJ. (1982). Social distance from the stigmatized: A test of two theories. Social Science and Medicine, 6, 1319–1327.
2.
AlonsoJ.BuronA.BruffaertsR.HeY.Posada-VillaJ.LepineJ. P.. . . Von KorffM. (2008). Association of perceived stigma and mood and anxiety disorders: Results from the World Mental Health Surveys. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavia, 118(4), 305–314.
3.
American Psychiatric Association. (1994). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th ed.). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association.
4.
AndradeL.Caraveo-anduagaJ. J.BerglundP.BijlR. V.De GraafR.VollebergW.. . . UstunT. B. (2003). The epidemiology of major depressive episodes: Results from the International Consortium of Psychiatric Epidemiology (ICPE) surveys. International Journal of Methods in Psychiatric Research, 12(1), 3–21.
5.
ArmstrongA.McMahonB. T.WestS.LewisA. (2005). Workplace discrimination and cumulative trauma disorders: The national EEOC ADA research project. Work: A Journal of Prevention, Disability, & Rehabilitation, 25, 49–56.
6.
BaileyJ. (1998). I’m just an ordinary person. Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal, 22(1), 8–10.
7.
BeckerD. R.DrakeR. E.BondG. R.XieH.DainB. J.HarrisonK. (1998). Terminations among persons with severe mental illness participating in supported employment. Community Mental Health Journal, 34(1), 71–82.
8.
BocamazoS. A. (1997, May19). ADA “mental” claims skyrocket. Lawyers Weekly USA.
9.
BondG. R.BeckerD. R.DrakeR. E.RappC. A.MeislerN.LehmanA. F.. . . BlylerC. R. (2001). Implementing supported employment as an evidence-based practice. Psychiatric Services, 52, 313–322.
10.
BondG. R.DrakeR. E.BeckerD. R. (2008). An update on randomized controlled trials of evidence-based supported employment. Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal, 31, 280–290.
11.
BordieriJ. E.DrehmerD. E.TaylorD. W. (1997). Work life for employees with disabilities: Recommendations for promotion. Rehabilitation Counseling Bulletin, 40, 181–191.
12.
BoweF.McMahonB. T.ChangT.LouvieI. (2005). Workplace discrimination, deafness and hearing impairment. Work: A Journal of Prevention, Disability, and Rehabilitation, 25, 19–25.
13.
BraddockD.BachelderL. (1994). The glass ceiling and persons with disabilities. Chicago, IL: Institute on Disability and Human Development.
CarterR. (1998). Helping someone with mental illness: A compassionate guide for family, friends, and caregivers. New York, NY: Random House.
16.
ChiG.Q.C.QuH. L. (2004). A study of differential employers’ attitude towards hiring people with physical, mental, and sensory disabilities in restaurant industry. Journal of Human Resources in Hospitality & Tourism, 3(2), 1–32.
17.
ChoJ. J.KimJ. Y.ChangS. J.FiedlerN.KohS. B.CrabtreeB. F.. . . ChoiY. H. (2008). Occupational stress and depression in Korean employees. International Archives of Occupational Environment and Health, 82, 47–57.
18.
Commonwealth Department of Family and Community Services. (2002). Case based funding trial evaluation: Interim report. Canberra, AU: Australian Government, Department of Family and Community Services.
19.
CookJ. A.BlylerC. R.LeffH. S.McFarlaneW. R.GoldbergR. W.GoldP. B.. . . RazzanoL. (2008). The Employment Intervention Demonstration Program: Major findings and policy implications. Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal, 31(4), 291–295.
20.
CookJ. A.RazzanoL. A.StraitonD. M.RossY. (1994). Cultivation and maintenance of relationships with employers of people with psychiatric disabilities. Psychosocial Rehabilitation Journal, 17(3), 103–116.
21.
CorriganP. W. (2003). Towards an integrated, structural model of psychiatric rehabilitation. Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal, 26(4), 346–358.
22.
CorriganP. W.RiverL. P.LundinR. K.PennD. L.Uphoff-WasowskiK.CampionJ.. . . KubiakM. A. (2001). Three strategies for changing attributions about severe mental illness. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 27(2), 187–195.
23.
Cradock-O’LearyJ.YoungA. S.YanoE. M.WangM.LeeM. L. (2002). Use of general medical services by VA patients with psychiatric disorders. Psychiatric Services, 53(7), 874–978.
CrowtherR. E.MarshallM.BondG. R.HuxleyP. (2001). Helping people with severe mental illness obtain work: A systematic review. British Medical Journal, 322, 204–208.
26.
DemyttenaereK.BruffaertsR.Posada-VillaJ.GasquetI.KovessV.LepineJ. P.. . . UstunT. B. (2004). Prevalence, severity, and unmet need for treatment of mental disorders in the World Health Organization World Mental Health Surveys. Journal of the American Medical Association, 291(21), 2581–2590.
DixonL.GoldbergR.LehmanA.McNaryS. (2001). The impact of health status on work, symptoms, and functional outcomes in severe mental illness. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 189(1), 17–23.
29.
DrehmerD. E.BordieriJ. B. (1985). Hiring decisions for disabled workers: The hidden bias. Rehabilitation Psychology, 30(3), 157–164.
30.
FuquaD. R.RathburnM.GadeE. M. (1984). A comparison of employer attitudes toward the worker problems of eight types of disabilities. Vocational Evaluation and Work Adjustment Bulletin, 15(1), 40–43.
31.
GarskeG. G.WilliamsB. T. (1999). The financial costs of severe mental illness. Journal of Rehabilitation, 65(4), 39–44.
32.
GoetzelR. Z.OzminkowskiR. J.SedererL. I.MarkT. L. (2002). The business case for quality mental health services: Why employers should care about the mental health and well-being of their employees. Journal of Occupational Environment Medicine, 44, 320–330.
33.
GroveB.LeslieI.ScottR. (1999). Making partnerships—work for rehabilitation and employment. Brighton, UK: Pavilion.
34.
HantulaD. A.ReillyN. A. (1996). Reasonable accommodation for employees with mental disabilities: A mandate for effective supervision?Behavioral Sciences and the Law, 14, 107–120.
35.
HernandezB.KeysC.BalcazarF. (2000). Employer attitudes toward workers with disabilities and their ADA employment rights: A literature review. Journal of Rehabilitation, 66(4), 4–16.
36.
HolmesP.CorriganP. W.WilliamsP.CanarJ.KubiakM. (1999). Changing public attitudes about schizophrenia. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 25, 447–456.
37.
HughesR. (1999). Psychosocial rehabilitation: New protocols, ethics and outcomes. International Journal of Mental Health, 28(1), 3–33.
38.
JohnsonV. A.GreenwoodR.SchrinerK. F. (1988). Work performance and work personality: Employer concerns about workers with disabilities. Rehabilitation Counseling Bulletin, 32, 50–57.
39.
JonesB.GallagherB. J.KelleyJ. M.MassariL. O. (1991). A survey of Fortune 500 corporate policies concerning the psychiatrically handicapped. Journal of Rehabilitation, 57(4), 31–35.
40.
KayeH. S. (2003, May). Improved employment opportunities for people with disabilities. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research.
41.
KellyE. P.RowlandH. C. (1997, September). Mental disabilities claims under the Americans with Disabilities Act and the EEOC’s guidelines. Labor Law Journal, pp. 556–569.
42.
KesslerR. C.BerglundP.DemlerO.JinR.KoretzD.MerikangasK. R.. . . WangP. S. (2003). The epidemiology of major depressive disorder: Results from the National Comorbidity Survey Replication (NCS-R). Journal of the American Medical Association, 289(23), 3095–3105.
43.
KesslerR. C.BerglundP. A.DemlerO.JinR.WaltersE. E. (2005). Lifetime prevalence and age-of-onset distributions of DSM-IV disorders in the National Comorbidity Survey Replication (NCS-R). Archives of General Psychiatry, 62(6), 593–602.
44.
KingR.WaghornG.LloydC.McLeodP.McMahT.LeongC. (2006). Enhancing employment services for people with severe mental illness: The challenge of the Australian service environment. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 40, 471–477.
45.
LewisA. N.McMahonB. T.WestS. L.ArmstrongA. J.BelongiaL. (2005). Workplace discrimination and asthma: The National EEOC ADA Research Project. Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation, 23, 189–195.
46.
LinkB. G.PhelanJ. C. (2001). Conceptualizing stigma. Annual Review of Sociology, 27, 363–385.
47.
LowmanD. K.WestS. L.McMahonB. T. (2005). Workplace discrimination and Americans with cerebral palsy: The National EEOC ADA Research Project. Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation, 23(3), 171–177.
48.
MacDonald-WilsonK.WhitmanA. (1995). Encouraging disclosure of psychiatric disability. American Rehabilitation, 21, 15–19.
49.
MacDonald-WilsonK. L.RogersE. S.MassaroJ. M.LyassA.CreanT. (2002). An investigation of reasonable workplace accommodations for people with psychiatric disabilities: Quantitative findings from a multi-site study. Community Mental Health Journal, 38, 35–50.
50.
ManningC.WhiteP. D. (1995). Attitudes of employers to the mentally ill. Psychiatric Bulletin, 19, 541–543.
51.
McKennaM. A. (2005). Discriminatory practices charged under EEOC: An empirical analysis of investigated complaints filed by those who have cancer. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Maryland, College Park.
52.
McMahonB. T.ShawL. R. (2005). Workplace discrimination and disability. Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation, 23, 137–143.
53.
McMahonB. T.ShawL. R.WestS.Waid-EbbsK. (2005). Workplace discrimination and spinal cord injury: The National EEOC ADA Research Project. Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation, 23(3), 155–162.
54.
Mental Health Foundation. (2000). Strategies for living. London, UK: Mental Health Foundation.
55.
Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare. (2004). Survey on the actual employment situation of disabled persons in 2003. Retrieved from http://www-bm.mhlw.go.jp/
56.
MitchellP. R.McMahonB. T.McKeeD. (2005). Speech impairment and workplace discrimination: The National EEOC ADA Research Project. Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation, 23(3), 163–169.
57.
MossK.JohnsenM. (1997). Employment discrimination and the ADA: A study of the administrative complaint process. Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal, 21(2), 111–121.
58.
MossK.SwansonJ.UllmanM.BurrisS. (2002). Mediation of employment discrimination disputes involving persons with psychiatric disabilities. Psychiatric Services, 53(8), 988–994.
59.
MossK.UllmanM.StarrettB. E.BurrisS.JohnsenM. C. (1999). Outcomes of employment discrimination charges filed under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Psychiatric Services, 50(8), 1028–1035.
60.
MutsuhiroN.MarikoN.SatoruS.EijiY. (2007). A 2-year cohort study on the impact of an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) on depression and suicidal thoughts in male Japanese workers. International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health, 81(2), 151–157.
61.
New Freedom Commission on Mental Health. (2003). Achieving the promise: Transforming mental health care in America (Final report, DHHS Pub. No. SMA-03-3832). Rockville, MD: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
62.
PardeckJ. T. (1999). Psychiatric disabilities and the Americans with Disabilities Act: Implications for policy and practice. Journal of Health and Social Policy, 10(3), 1–12.
63.
PennD. L.GuynanK.DailyT.SpauldingW. D.GarbinC. P.SullivanM. (1994). Dispelling the stigma of schizophrenia: What sort of information is best?Schizophrenia Bulletin, 20(3), 567–578.
64.
PennD.KommanaS.MansfieldM.LinkB. (1999). Dispelling the stigma of schizophrenia: II. The impact of information on dangerousness. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 25, 437–446.
65.
RitsherJ. B.OtilingamP. G.GrajalesM. (2003). Internalized stigma of mental illness: Psychometric properties of a new measure. Psychiatry Research, 121(1), 31–49.
66.
RoesslerR. (2002). Improving job tenure outcomes for people with disabilities: The 3M model. Rehabilitation Counseling Bulletin, 45(4), 207–212.
67.
RoesslerR. T.McMahonB. T.RumrillP. D. (2007). Workplace discrimination outcomes and their predictive factors for adults with multiple sclerosis. Rehabilitation Counseling Bulletin, 50(3), 139–152.
68.
RumrillP. D.RoesslerR. T.McMahonB. T.FitzgeraldS. M. (2005). Multiple sclerosis and workplace discrimination: The National EEOC ADA Research Project. Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation, 23, 179–187.
69.
ScheidT. L. (1999). Employment of individuals with mental disabilities: Business response to the ADA’s challenges. Behavioral Sciences and the Law, 17, 73–91.
70.
StefanS. (2002). Hollow promises: Employment discrimination against people with mental disabilities. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
71.
StewartW. F.RicciJ. A.CheeE.HahnS. R.MorgansteinD. (2003). Cost of lost productive work time among US workers with depression. The Journal of the American Medical Association, 289, 3135–3144.
72.
StrongS. (1998). Meaningful work in supportive environments: Experiences with the recovery process. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 52, 31–38.
73.
StuartH. L. (2006). Mental illness and employment discrimination. Current Opinion in Psychiatry, 19(5), 522–526.
74.
TADAR. (1997). The ADA Report, 6(1).
75.
ThrelkeldR. M.DeJongW. (1983). Hiring the disabled: An attempt to influence behavior intentions through a media presentation. Rehabilitation Psychology, 28(2), 104–114.
76.
TiwariS. L.WangJ. (2008). Ethnic differences in mental health services use among White, Chinese, South Asian and South East Asian populations living in Canada. Social Psychiatry & Psychiatric Epidemiology, 43(11), 866–871.
77.
TwamleyE. W.JesteD. V.LehmanA. F. (2003). Vocational rehabilitation in schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders: A literature review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 191, 515–523.
78.
UllmanM. D.JohnsenM. C.MossK.BurrisS. (2001). The EEOC charges priority policy and claimants with psychiatric disabilities. Psychiatric Service, 52(5), 644–649.
79.
UngerD. D.CampbellL. R.McMahonB. T. (2005). Workplace discrimination and mental retardation: The National EEOC ADA Research Project. Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation, 23(3), 145–154.
80.
UngerD. D.RumrillP. D.RoesslerR. T.StacklinR. (2004). A comparative analysis of employment discrimination complaints filed by people with multiple sclerosis and individuals with other disabilities. Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation, 20, 165–170.
81.
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. (1997). Enforcement guidance: The Americans with Disabilities Act and psychiatric disabilities. Washington, DC: Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. (H 915.002). Retrieved from http://www.eeoc.gov/docs/psych.html/stats.htm
82.
Van WierenT. A. (2006). Autism spectrum disorders and workplace discrimination: An empirical analysis of EEOC-resolved ADA Title I charges. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Virginia Commonwealth University.
83.
VierstraC. V. (2006). A comparative analysis of the employment discrimination experiences of Americans with multiple chemical sensitivity and other disabling conditions. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Kent State University.
