In a move that many expected, the Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Labor, and the United States Treasury Department (the Departments) announced that they will immediately halt enforcement of the 2024 Final Rule under the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (“MHPAEA”). As of May 15, 2025, the Departments will not enforce the 2024 Final Rule, nor will they pursue enforcement of any noncompliance with the 2024 Final Rule prior to a final decision in pending litigation, plus an additional 18 months.
Articles Discussing Mental Disabilities Under the ADA.
The U.S. Mental Health Crisis – Mental Health: Beyond the ADA and FMLA
This article is a continuation of a series of Alerts providing guidance for employers on mental health in the workplace and specifically addresses how employers can not only meet the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) but work to implement best practices related to employee mental health with the goals of increasing productivity, job satisfaction, and retention.
Mental Health Accommodations in the Workplace
Accommodation requests for mental health issues are on the rise. Even though these types of disabilities might not be outwardly apparent, employers must address requests for mental health accommodations in the same way they would evaluate— and potentially accommodate—any disability as legally required.
Disability Discrimination Charges Involving Neurodivergence Are Rising, According to EEOC Data
As diagnoses of neurodiversity become more common, employers are facing more disability discrimination complaints from neurodivergent workers, according to recent data from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).
Employer Group Sues to Block Mental Health Parity Rules
Only weeks after the principal effective date for the final 2024 federal mental health parity rules for employer-sponsored health benefit plans, those rules—and specifically some key features that are frustrating employers—are being challenged as examples of regulatory overreach.
The U.S. Mental Health Crisis
This article is a continuation of a series of Alerts providing guidance for employers on handling mental health issues in the workplace and specifically addresses issues that relate to neurodiversity and employees who self-identify as neurodivergent.
The U.S. Mental Health Crisis and the Workplace
Real World Impact: This is the first in a series of Alerts that will provide guidance to employers on navigating the complicated mix of concerns that can arise when dealing with employee mental health issues.
How can employers address the effects of employees’ mental health issues in the workplace?
Mental Health in the Manufacturing Industry: Can Employers Make Workplace Welcoming, Supportive?
May is Mental Health Awareness Month in the United States. June is Men’s Health Month. For manufacturers competing for employees, these important topics often are overlooked.
Mental Health in the Workplace: Addressing Employee Wellness and Raising Awareness in a Modern Era
With more employees returning to the office and physical workplaces as pandemic restrictions are eased and with an increasingly competitive labor market, it is especially important that employers be vigilant in responding to the mental health needs of their employees.
A Very Unhappy Birthday: Lessons on Employee Anxiety
A Kentucky jury recently awarded Kevin Berling $450,000 for disability discrimination because his employer ignored his request not to celebrate his birthday and subsequently terminated his employment.
Naomi Osaka Shines Further Light on Mental Health Issues in the Workplace
11th Circuit Finds Employee Conduct May Lead to Termination Even Where the Conduct is the Result of Mental Illness
On May 27, 2021, in Todd v. Fayette County School District, a unanimous three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit affirmed the propriety of a school district’s decision to end a mentally ill teacher’s employment. The school district’s reasonable belief that the teacher had
Addressing Mental Health in the Workforce
May is Mental Health Awareness Month. After fifteen months of the COVID-19 pandemic – which has placed unprecedented stress on Americans dealing with isolation and fear, while juggling closed schools and businesses, homeschooling children, working from home, and economic uncertainty, including ensuring basic necessities – Americans are struggling to recover. One study published by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reported a finding that almost 41 percent of adults reported a mental health issue or increased substance use. Other studies published more recently in 2021 reflect similar results. For employers, who rely on a healthy workforce to be successful, this has direct repercussions on productivity, work quality and, in some cases, legal liability.
Dear Littler: How Should We Approach an Employee Showing Signs of Cognitive Decline?
Dear Littler: We have an employee who is exhibiting signs of dementia or some other sort of cognitive impairment. He has fallen asleep at work a few times recently and seems confused by tasks that did not pose any problem for him in the past. His performance was solid for years but started declining in the past several months, along with his attention to detail. How do we handle our concerns about his well-being and performance? Should we ask him what’s going on with his health?