Persons with Mental Illness and the Americans With Disabilities Act: Implications for the Social Work Profession

ABSTRACT

Although persons who are diagnosed with a mental illness are potentially protected from employment discrimination by the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, a rather perplexing set of questions arises when attempting to delineate exactly which such workers are accorded protection against discrimination. This article considers the status of persons with mental illness within the context of the ADA, drawing heavily from court cases that have involved such individuals.

KEYWORDS:

• Employment discrimination
• disabilities
• mental illness