We’ve seen a huge uptick in the number of potential or prospective clients calling us since the pandemic began with regard to either mental health issues in general or anxiety and PTSD.

Both California and Federal laws prohibit disability discrimination and harassment and require employers to provide reasonable accommodations for people with disabilities.
According to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), 2600 workers lodged anxiety-related disability discrimination charges in 2021, which is expected to climb dramatically due to workers returning post-Covid-19.

With the pandemic and people working from home, there’s been an enormous blurring of the lines for employers about the propriety of contacting employees off-duty. For anxious workers, it can be a major source of stress to have a supervisor emailing, calling, and texting them at all hours.

There are five major types of anxiety disorders:

• Generalized Anxiety Disorder is characterized by chronic anxiety, exaggerated worry, and tension, even when there is little or nothing to provoke it.
• Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is characterized by recurrent, unwanted thoughts. (obsessions) and repetitive behaviors (compulsions). Performing ritual behaviors such as hand washing, counting, checking, or cleaning provides only temporary relief, and not performing them markedly increases anxiety.
• Panic Disorder is characterized by unexpected and repeated episodes of intense fear accompanied by physical symptoms, including chest pain, heart palpitations, shortness of breath, or dizziness.
• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a disorder often developed after exposure to a terrifying event or ordeal in which grave physical harm occurred or is threatened.
• Social Phobia (or Social Anxiety Disorder) is characterized by overwhelming anxiety and excessive self-consciousness in an everyday social situation.

Disability discrimination occurs when an employer treats a qualified individual who is an employee or applicant unfavorably because they have a disability or a history of a disability such as an anxiety-related disorder, or because they are believed to have a physical or mental impairment that is not transitory (lasting or expected to last six months or less) and minor (even if they do not have such an impairment).

The law forbids discrimination when it comes to employment, including hiring, firing, pay, job assignments, promotions, layoff, training, fringe benefits, and any other term or condition of employment.

Obviously, there were always jerky bosses who felt free to contact employees off-duty, but with the pandemic, more bosses felt free to contact employees 24/7, and employees felt compelled to respond 24/7. One way for company leaders to avoid exacerbating a worker’s mental health issues is to honor their off-duty time.

If you or a family member have experienced discrimination because of an anxiety-related disability, contact the Disability Discrimination Attorneys at Helmer Friedman LLP (310)396-7714 or complete a discrimination case questionnaire.