Mentally Ill
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The Aug. 22 commentary by Margaret A. Hagen, “Giving People License to Behave Badly on the Job,” is a misrepresentation of the 1990 Americans With Disabilities Act as it applies to people with psychiatric disabilities. Unfortunately, Hagen’s dire predictions reflect the prejudice and ignorance that surround mental illnesses.
Employers are not required to tolerate rudeness or hostility that affect other workers. Employers are not required to undergo “undue hardship”; instead, job accommodation is to be based on financial considerations and common sense. Employers are not mandated to tolerate “repeated lying, assaults, use of aliases, and conning of others for profit or pleasure.”
For decades employers have found employees who have mental illnesses to be excellent job risks and productive workers.
JEAN ARNOLD, Chair
National Stigma Clearinghouse
New York
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