BarbriSFCourseDetails
  1. keyboard_arrow_leftBack
BarbriPdBannerMessage

Course Details

Course Information
  • smart_display Format

    On-Demand

  • signal_cellular_alt Difficulty Level

  • work Practice Area

    Employment and Workers Comp

Date & Time
  • event Date

    Wednesday, September 22, 2021

  • schedule Time

    1:00 p.m. ET./10:00 a.m. PT

  • timer Program Length

    90 minutes

Credit Information

  • This 90-minute webinar is eligible in most states for 1.5 CLE credits.


  • Live Online


    On Demand

$297.00

This course is $0 with these passes:

CLE
ALL

This CLE course will equip employment counsel with the tools to address current and emerging issues related to the increased focus on mental health in the post-pandemic workplace. Employees with mental health concerns can pursue remedies under the ADA and the FMLA. Therefore, counsel must understand the steps to minimize potential exposure as employees seek protection and be aware of trial strategies if disputes arise.

Faculty

Jonathan R. Mook
Ogletree Deakins

Mr. Mook is a nationally recognized authority on the ADA and is the author of two treatises, “Americans with Disabilities Act: Employee Rights and Employer Obligations” and “Americans with Disabilities Act: Public Accommodations and Commercial Facilities.” Mr. Mook lectures nationally on the ADA and other employment law topics.

expand_circle_down Expand to View Full Bio expand_circle_up Collapse Bio
Frank C. Morris
Member
Epstein Becker & Green PC

Mr. Morris leads the firm’s Employment, Labor and Workforce Management Practice in the Washington, D.C., office, and co-chairs the firm's ADA and Public Accommodations Group. A former NLRB attorney, he now represents private and public employers in EEO, disability, labor, and general litigation matters. Mr. Morris regularly writes and lectures on various employment and litigation topics and is an adjunct professor at George Washington University Law School, where he teaches Discrimination Law.

expand_circle_down Expand to View Full Bio expand_circle_up Collapse Bio

Description

Awareness of employee mental health issues presents challenges for employers and their counsel, especially given the stressors accompanying the COVID-19 pandemic. Some estimate that 25 percent of those over 18 experience some mental health problems each year, and employees are requesting accommodations with increasing frequency. Mental health disabilities are broadly defined under the DSM-5 and even more broadly in some jurisdictions' statutory definitions.

Employment counsel must proactively prepare clients for responding to ADA accommodation requests and FMLA leave of absence requests as employees begin returning to the workplace. Counsel should assist clients in designing and implementing policies and procedures that balance workplace concerns with the rights of employees experiencing mental health issues.

Even with the best-designed policies and carefully honed practices, litigation is often the ultimate reality. Employment trial counsel must educate the trier of fact on the nature and extent of mental disorders. Further, discovery and summary judgment strategies may eliminate the risks of trial.

Listen as our distinguished panel provides best practices that serve as a foundation for effective litigation strategies. The panelists will discuss trial techniques specific to mental health claims, including jury education, new summary judgment strategies, experts, and causation issues.

Outline

  1. How ADA covers mental/intellectual disabilities
  2. Best practices
    1. Accommodation requirements, including post-pandemic telework requests
    2. Interactive process requirements
    3. Misconduct/direct threat
    4. Interplay with FMLA
  3. Litigation strategies
    1. Educating the jury
    2. Summary judgment techniques
    3. Use of experts
    4. Latest developments on causation

Benefits

The panel will review these and other key issues:

  • What mental and emotional conditions does the ADA now cover?
  • What are the steps for employers in an interactive process for investigating reasonable accommodations? Is cost a consideration?
  • When does the direct threat defense apply?
  • How do the ADA and FMLA overlap and interact where an employee has a mental disability?
  • How must counsel communicate with juries regarding mental health claims to include diagnoses and qualifications as a disability?
  • What are effective summary judgment and trial strategies? When and how to use expert testimony?
  • How do the recent developments with causation apply to mental/intellectual disability claims?