Executive Summary: -

There is no denying that the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the landscape of the workplace. Whether for better or for worse may be subject to debate and personal opinion, but what is a fairly certain point is that the pandemic, now in its third year, has forced the United States workers and their employers to gradually become more and more aware of mental health in the workplace. It’s a new era for mental health for sure—one that requires U.S. companies to be closely aware of their legal obligations with respect to recognizing and accommodating mental illness. Both the Wage and Hour Division of the United States Department of Labor (DOL), which enforces the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA), and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), which enforces the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, as amended (ADA), have signaled, since the start of the pandemic, their interest in enforcing compliance, and so employers are well-advised to understand their legal obligations to employees when it comes to mental health.