Webinar to Address Mood Disorders, Asperger’s, ADHD in the Office

SPRINGFIELD — Skoler, Abbott & Presser, P.C., a labor and employment-law firm serving the Greater Springfield area, announced that partner Susan Fentin will host a webinar on July 22 from 1:30 to 3 p.m. titled “Bipolar and Other Mood Disorders, Asperger’s, and ADHD: Keys to Legally Managing Productivity.”

Human-resource professionals and supervisors alike will benefit from the webinar, which highlights how to spot and address performance triumphs and the challenges workers with these conditions may experience — without violating increasingly broad laws.

“One emerging concern surrounds the fact that some of those individuals entering the workforce right now may have grown accustomed to being treated differently under special-education requirements in school,” said Fentin. “Many human-resource professionals question whether they need to provide similar accommodations in the workplace under the Americans with Disabilities Act.”

The live webinar will address managing employees with increasingly common mental conditions and best practices for day-to-day performance and example scenarios that arise from mood, concentration, and social-skill challenges. Under the ADA, employers have a duty to grant reasonable accommodation to an employee with a covered disability, and given the broad expansion through the ADA Amendments Act, more mental conditions now qualify employees for protection than ever before. Attendees will learn:

• Symptoms employees with mood disorders and other mental conditions may exhibit, including bipolar disorder, depression, ADHD, and Asperger’s syndrome;

• When an employee with one or more conditions may be entitled to an ADA accommodation;

• What accommodations might be required for employees who suffer from one of these conditions;

• What a supervisor should do if an employee can’t seem to stay organized or fails to meet deadlines;

• How to draft an agreement laying out clear expectations, any applicable accommodations, and the consequences of not meeting specific performance standards;

• How to master day-to-day challenges from an employee’s difficulty in handling stress or keeping their emotions in check;

• Attendance issues that come to light when a mood disorder or other mental condition is present and how to respond;

• Strategies for managing co-worker interactions and tips on how to recognize harassment and eradicate bullying that may be occurring against affected employees; and

• What supervisors and managers can do to help manage compliance risks under the ADA, FMLA, and HIPAA.
To register for the webinar, visit store.hrhero.com/events/audio-conferences-webinars/adhd-bipolar-employees-072214.