Can Employers Discriminate Based on Mental Health? Understanding ADA Protections
Can your employer treat you differently because of your mental health condition? More and more people are asking this question as conversations around mental health become more common at work.
Mental health affects more than one in five adults in the U.S. every year, yet many people still worry about the consequences of their manager knowing about their condition.1 What if it could affect their job security, opportunities for promotion, or even how they are treated by others in the office?
In this article, we’ll dive into what mental health discrimination looks like in the workplace, and what legal protections exist to prevent discrimination from happening. We’ll break down the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), explore your rights as an employee, and go through what to do if you think you’ve been discriminated against at work.
By the end, you’ll understand more about your rights, and what you can do if you feel like your mental health condition is being used against you at work.
What Is Mental Health Discrimination at Work?
Mental health discrimination at work is when a person with a mental health condition is treated differently, unfairly, or less favorably than other employees due to their illness. For example, this could affect whether you are hired or fired, overlooked for promotions, excluded from certain work activities, or are the target of harassment. There are a few different types of discrimination that exist:2,3
- Direct Discrimination: When you are unfairly treated because of your mental health condition, for example, if you had depression and lost out on a promotion because of this.
- Indirect Discrimination: This is more subtle than direct discrimination. It’s when workplace policies or procedures put individuals with mental health issues at a disadvantage. For example, policies not allowing for flexible working so that you can attend medical appointments such as therapy.
- Disability Discrimination: When mental health conditions are recognized as disabilities under the law, and you are discriminated against in any form.
- Harassment: Being teased, mocked, or having derogatory remarks made about you because of your mental health condition.
- Retaliation: If you spoke up about practices in your company that were discriminatory, and you were mistreated because you made a complaint.
Can Employers Discriminate Against Mental Health?
The Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) and Mental Health
The Americans with Disabilities Act is the law that protects people with disabilities from discrimination, whether they are physical or mental conditions.5 A disability, according to the ADA, is someone who has – or previously had, or is perceived to have – a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits major life activities.6
If you meet those requirements through your mental health condition, you are automatically entitled to ADA mental health protections. Some examples of mental health conditions may include anxiety disorders, major depressive disorder, or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Under the ADA, employers cannot discriminate against employees with mental disabilities, and there are specific legal requirements that businesses must obey. Some of the employer obligations under the ADA are to have workplace policies in place that support mental health and tackle discrimination.
Businesses have to provide people with disabilities equal opportunities for things like promotions, training, pay, and social activities at work. If not, they are falling short of their legal requirements.
Is Anxiety Protected Under ADA?
Anxiety can be protected under the ADA as long as you meet the requirements for it being a disability: you have (or have had or are viewed as having) a mental impairment that substantially limits major life activities.
But what does this actually mean? Well, the part ‘substantially limits’ is not defined specifically, but suggests that your condition doesn’t need to be permanent or severe to be classed as ‘substantially limiting’. Your symptoms may come and go, but the important part is how limited you are when your symptoms are present. As for the ‘major life activities,’ this means your everyday tasks, such as eating, sleeping, walking, thinking, concentrating, communicating, reading, and lots of other things.
For example, when looking at anxiety and work, you may have trouble taking part in meetings if you are scared of speaking in public. So, if your anxiety disorder limits your ability to work, then you are protected.
Chronic Disability and Employment Rights
A chronic disability is usually classed as a disability that will be long-term, for example, for at least a year. Employees who have chronic illnesses have rights under the ADA to help them manage their work and health. Employers are legally required to provide reasonable accommodations and work alterations so that you can do your job, which could include changes such as altering work schedules or duties. Let’s go into some of these workplace accommodations next.
Employee Rights: Workplace Accommodations and Protections
You may have a right to reasonable accommodations if your mental health condition could affect your job performance. An accommodation simply means an alteration that allows you to do your normal job. There are many changes an employer could make to help you carry out your daily work tasks, and mental health conditions can be just as debilitating as physical health conditions.
Thanks to the ADA, legal rights for employees with PTSD are no different from the rights of an employee with epilepsy, ensuring that you are covered, no matter the type of disability you live with. The key with accommodations is to know which ones are considered ‘reasonable.’ Let’s dive into this below.
What Are Reasonable Accommodations for Mental Health?
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is a federal agency that enforces the laws around employment. They are the ones who uphold the law that makes it illegal to discriminate against job applicants or current employees based on certain characteristics, including medical conditions. They give specific guidance on matters of discrimination, including what is considered a reasonable accommodation for mental health, which we will explain now.4
A reasonable accommodation is described as a change in the way things are usually done at work, which would allow you to do your normal job. For example, a change to working schedules to let you attend therapy appointments for your mental health condition, or a quiet office space to minimize distractions.
Depending on the organization, reasonable accommodations for anxiety may include working from home if leaving the house causes panic attacks. Workplace accommodations for depression may include flexible working hours to help manage symptoms or a phased return to work after a period of leave. Changes to job roles or specific assignments, whether temporary or permanent, could also be considered as a reasonable accommodation. However, if your job requires you to physically be on site, then working from home likely wouldn’t be considered a reasonable accommodation. Instead, a period of leave to help you manage your symptoms before returning to work and a phased return may be considered reasonable.
To get a reasonable accommodation, you can simply ask for one from your employer. You’ll need to tell your boss, HR manager, or whoever is the most appropriate person, that you require a change at work because of your medical condition. This does, however, mean that you need to disclose your medical condition and explain how it affects you at work, along with how the proposed change will help you to work better.
Mental Health Disclosure at Work: What You Need to Know
The first thing you need to know is that you do not have to tell your employer about your mental health condition. In fact, there are only four circumstances where an employer can ask you medical questions:
- When you ask for a reasonable accommodation.
- After making you a job offer but before employment begins.
- When asking for reasons of diversity and disability recruitment efforts, in which case you can choose whether or not to respond.
- On the job when there is evidence that you might not be able to do your job, or you pose a safety risk.
If you do choose to disclose your condition, then the employer cannot discriminate against you and must maintain the confidentiality of mental health records at work.4
There can be advantages to disclosing your mental health condition to people at work. If you tell your employer about your condition, you could receive reasonable accommodations like those discussed earlier to help you perform your job effectively. You may also find your colleagues may be understanding and supportive of you, meaning you don’t have to hide or ‘mask’ your condition as much as usual. You can also contribute to breaking mental health stigma in the workplace by showing that mental health is not a taboo subject.
On the flip side comes the risk of opening yourself up to potential negative comments, discrimination, or stigma from your colleagues. But remember that you have the right to a discrimination-free workplace through the ADA.
Can You Be Fired for Having a Mental Illness?
Some people worry that disclosing mental illness and job termination go hand-in-hand. This is not true. In fact, it is illegal for an employer to discriminate against you because of your mental health condition, which includes terminating your contract.
If you think you have been unfairly fired or had your rights violated, the EEOC can help you figure out what to do about it. The EEOC mental health guidelines exist for this purpose – to help you decide whether your rights have been broken. If you go ahead with filing a mental health discrimination claim, they will conduct an investigation for you. An employer is not allowed to retaliate against you for contacting the EEOC or for filing a complaint, it is actually illegal for them to retaliate. For more information on what to do if you think your rights at work have been violated, you can head to the EEOC website for more information.
Seek Mental Health Support at Mission Connection
When you choose Mission Connection to support you with your mental health, you don’t need to worry about fighting for your rights. We understand how important it is to be able to trust your healthcare provider, and we will always strive to uphold the law and give you the best possible treatment.
We provide compassionate support tailored to your individual needs while respecting your rights. Living with a mental health condition affects everyone differently – that’s why we provide a variety of treatment approaches to help you on your road to recovery. Some of our services include:
- Short-term inpatient stays
- Partial hospitalization
- Intensive outpatient programs
- Outpatient services like online therapy, mindfulness therapy, and cognitive behavioral therapy.
We want to make sure you can access the right treatment when you need it most, that’s why we offer a range of payment options to help ease any concerns over the cost of mental health care.
Contact us today to begin your healing journey. Your well-being matters, and we’re here to provide you with the support you need and deserve.
References
- ADA. (2025, January 16). The Americans with Disabilities Act. https://www.ada.gov/
- ADA. (2025, April 1). Introduction to the Americans with Disabilities Act. https://www.ada.gov/topics/intro-to-ada/
- National Institute of Mental Health. (n.d.). Mental illness. https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/mental-illness
- U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. (2016, December 12). Depression, PTSD, & other mental health conditions in the workplace: Your legal rights. https://www.eeoc.gov/laws/guidance/depression-ptsd-other-mental-health-conditions-workplace-your-legal-rights
- U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. (n.d.). Harassment. https://www.eeoc.gov/harassment
- USA.gov. (n.d.). Discrimination, harassment, and retaliation. https://www.usa.gov/job-discrimination-harassment
