On Reasonable Accommodation Personality Disorders are actually included as covered under the ADA and the EEOC issued guidelines about how they are covered. It is still confusing since the behaviors associated with personality disorders can be so subtle. According to the ADA, a mental disability must prevent or significantly restrict the condition, manner, or duration of a major life activity compared to the average person in the general population, but how do you define this when it comes to personality and traits?
Supreme Court decisions have found that individuals are not disabled as covered by the ADA if their problems are correctable (i.e., as in eyeglasses) or do not limit major "life activities." So, with personality issues, irritability, stress, chronic lateness, or poor judgment tend not to be considered mental impairments, although they may suggest impairments (i.e., personality disorders). So, some unfriendliness with co-workers, would not be sufficient to require reasonable accommodation, but chronically high levels of hostility, withdrawal, or a inability or failure to communicate with others would be covered. In the employment realm, when it comes to advising or working with companies/agencies, we advise them to train their supervisors to avoid suggesting to "difficult" employees that they may have "mental problems." Because once an employee invokes the ADA, it sets off a legal chain reaction and they must make a determination. Haydee Gelpi Broward Community College Florida -----Original Message----- From: Harry Avis [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: Friday, April 26, 2002 2:08 PM To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences Subject: Re: Personality disorders and ADA Without being too flip, I already make accomodations for borderlines. When they come up with their tragdies and crises, I give them more time rather than confort the reality of them. I actually did have a student who claimed DID, and told me the "wrong" personality took the exam that day. I told her that I would look at the other exams and if the exam in question was way out of line, I would "take it into consideration". It wasn't and I didn't. Once again, I saw no point in confronting the issue. This comes of more than 30 years of teaching. >>On a related note, aren't personality disorders also covered by the ADA? >>Would we also have to make reasonable accomodations for that disorder? >>What would the accomodations be, say, for borderline personality disorder? > >Rod > >______________________________________________ >Roderick D. Hetzel, Ph.D. >Department of Psychology >LeTourneau University >Post Office Box 7001 >2100 South Mobberly Avenue >Longview, Texas 75607-7001 > >Office: Heath-Hardwick Hall 115 >Phone: 903-233-3312 >Fax: 903-233-3476 >Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >Homepage: http://www.letu.edu/people/rodhetzel > > >--- >Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. >Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). >Version: 6.0.325 / Virus Database: 182 - Release Date: 2/19/2002 > > >--- >You are currently subscribed to tips as: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >To unsubscribe send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Harry Avis PhD Sierra College Rocklin, CA 95677 email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Anything worth doing is worth doing at all. Unknown. If we live long enough, death comes to us all Unknown _________________________________________________________________ Join the world's largest e-mail service with MSN Hotmail. http://www.hotmail.com --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
