Mental health claims on the rise: New normal for disability-related charges?

The COVID-19 pandemic took its toll on employees’ mental health. They struggled to adjust to the multiple burdens of working from home, caring for family members, and achieving work-life balance. Data recently released by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) confirm that more and more discrimination charges include claims based on mental health conditions. The change is based largely on the increase in discrimination charges related to anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Mental health claims up nearly 50%

In fiscal year 2021, 37.2% of EEOC charges included disability-related claims under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Of those claims, nearly 30% were based on alleged discrimination based on mental health conditions. Ten years ago, mental health claims only accounted for 20% of ADA charges.

For example, in fiscal year 2011, only 1,362 claims were based on anxiety disorder, accounting for only 5.3% of all ADA charges. But fast forward to fiscal year 2021, and anxiety claims have more than doubled—2,639 charges were based on anxiety disorder, making up 11.6% of all ADA claims. Similarly, PTSD claims in fiscal year 2011 were only 2.3% of ADA charges, but now they account for 6.0% of charges filed in 2021.

Pandemic stress affecting employees and workplace culture