Responding to Mental Illness:
A focus on practical approaches to mental health issues
Pre-Conference Workshop

Presented by Lancaster House

Monday, November 22, 2010
Full-Day Interactive Session
9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

The Lord Nelson Hotel & Suites
1515 South Park Street, Halifax, NS B3J 2L2

The accommodation of employees experiencing mental health issues in the workplace involves considerations and strategies that differ from those involved in the accommodation of other types of disabilities. In this full-day workshop, using case studies and video clips of real employees who have experienced mental illnesses in the workplace, the workshop leaders explore the challenges for employers and unions in reaching out to and accommodating employees in a number of different situations. Topics covered include:

• Identifying Mental Health Issues: How do you separate a performance issue from a mental health issue?  How should one approach an employee who appears to be experiencing mental health difficulties? What course should be followed where the employee is in denial?
• Triggering the Duty:  When will arbitrators impute to employers "constructive knowledge" of a disability? Does inappropriate or anti-social behaviour trigger a duty on the employer's part to inquire about an employee's mental health? What about employees who are experiencing mental health issues related to a particularly stressful situation in their lives? Should they be accommodated?
• Return-to-Work: What are the elements of a successful return-to-work or stay-at-work plan? What are the employer’s and union’s roles in developing and implementing the plan?
• Medical Information:  What must the employee disclose in order to establish a need for accommodation? Is the employer entitled to know the employee's diagnosis, functional limitations, treatment, and other details? When can the employer require additional medical information, independent medical assessments, or second opinions? What measures should be put in place to ensure an employee's privacy?
• Employee Participation: What effect does employee intransigence have on the duty to accommodate? Do disabled employees have a legal obligation to accept reasonable accommodation proposals? Can disabled employees be required to undergo treatment as a condition of employment?
• Disability-Related Misconduct:  Is the employer obliged to determine whether misconduct by an employee is a matter for discipline or the result of a disability that requires accommodation? Does the "hybrid test," requiring a separate consideration of culpable and non-culpable behaviour, still apply?