Mentally Ill Discrimination

4 Pages 967 Words

In forty-seven out of the fifty great states in the US, there are laws that specifically set out to protect the mentally ill from discrimination in the workplace (Steckner 1). The problem is that Arizona does not classify a mental illness as an actual disability. The lack of sufficient laws has allowed corporations to unfairly discriminate against or terminate employees with mental impairments and leaves the employee without a real court case. If the current laws were sufficient, they would protect the mentally ill from job discrimination, provide on the job accommodations to make working easier, and in case of on-the-job discrimination, provide help in any lawsuit.
In Arizona, any discrimination suit brought against an employer for a mental disability can not be prosecuted through the attorney general. They must go through the federal court system, which is often a much longer process that is much more expensive, and overall, inconvenient. Many bills have been introduced, hoping to change the laws, but they have been killed every time. Under the new proposed law, the term “mental impairment” will be added to the current disability law, covering mental illness as a disability. Also, under this law, the impaired would be afforded some reasonable job accommodations. According to the ADA, a “reasonable accommodation is a modification or an adjustment to a job or the work environment that will enable a qualified applicant or employee with a disability to participate in the application process or to perform essential job functions” (ADA 2).
Employment is an important part of recovery and treatment for people with severe mental illnesses (NAMI 1-2). The problem with that is they are being discriminated against and without new laws to protect them, the discrimination will continue. Business owners are among those who are greatly opposed to the suggested laws. They are afraid of the idea of going to court and having to...