New employment guidelines benefit mentally ill

May 1, 1997
Web posted at: 4:37 a.m. EDT (0837 GMT)

From correspondent Lisa Price

CHICAGO (CNN) -- The American workplace has been remodeled to make room for the physically disabled. Now, according to new guidelines released by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), employers must accommodate workers with mental illnesses.

"The new guidelines make clear what the Disabilities Act said. It protects people with mental disabilities just as it protects people with physical disabilities," said Peggy Mastroianni of the EEOC.

Corporate compliance with the guidelines is not discretionary, it's mandatory. Employers may not ask if job applicants have a history of mental illness and must take "reasonable" steps to accommodate those with illnesses ranging from schizophrenia to obsessive compulsive disorder.

Among other things the guidelines call for employers to allow extra time off from work or alter schedules and make physical changes in the workplace for a employee with a mental illness.

However, under the guidelines state employers do not have to lower performance standards for people suffering such disorders as major depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, obsessive-compulsive disorder and personality disorder.

Josephine Cruse who suffers from depression, said all she needed was a chance to work.

"This job has helped me. This job gives me energy and independence," said Cruse, who is a cashier at a Chicago Walgreens.

Not all of those suffering from mental illnesses are so lucky.

"Some people are very willing to accommodate a person's needs and then you've got some employers that really aren't willing to give you the time of day," said Lynda Gunther of the Jewish Vocation Service.

But it's now become the boss' job to make sure they do.

"You have to have patience, be open-minded, give them a chance, give them an opportunity to prove themselves and you never know, they may be your best workers," said Marcia Carter, a Walgreens manager.

Or they may not.

Many employers complain they don't have the expertise to analyze what might be "mentally ill" behavior.

"I'm not saying that people don't have stress and don't have depression but for an employer to have to make that determination and have to sort through that, I think it needs to be clarified," said Joseph Milligan of the Illinois Manufacturers Association.

For now, the guidelines stand. Even though many employers and employees are left wondering if the new rules will really get the job done.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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