“…under the amended act, an employee who suffers from depression may be able to function quite normally with the aid of medication but will still be considered to be disabled and will need to receive accommodation….”
“…the frequency of discrimination claims will likely increase — as will the frequency of litigation losses — but she says the severity of individual claims will likely not change all that much, with class actions in this field being a rarity…”
Existing employment-practices liability insurance policies shouldn’t have to be rewritten or modified, she says. “We would push back on any attempt to limit coverage just because the act has been expanded.”
Employers, however, should be integrating their disability-management programs to include non-occupationally injured and ill employees, and not just workers’ compensation cases, according to Pimentel.
“That is the big trend, and by the way, from an ADA-compliance standpoint, I recommend employers take a close look at doing that,” Pimentel says.
Employers should also be revisiting how much training they are doing among their supervisors on employee etiquette, language and comfort levels in communicating with disabled employees, he advises.
“Talking to them about their needs for accommodation is … an enforced requirement under the law,” Pimentel says.
For more:Â http://www.hreonline.com/HRE/story.jsp?storyId=533338925
