By Godson Umejiego, Senior Correspondent, USA

Tuesday, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programmes (OFCCP) observes Mental Health Awareness Month.

 OFCCP is committed to ensuring the workplace is free of employment and disability discrimination and that employers provide reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities, including those who have mental health conditions. Each year millions of Americans face the reality of living with a mental health condition, with significant impacts on their health and economic security. President Biden highlighted the unprecedented mental health crisis facing our nation:

Two out of five adults report symptoms of anxiety or depression. And, Black and Brown communities are disproportionately undertreated – even as their burden of mental illness has continued to rise. Even before the pandemic, rates of depression and anxiety were inching higher. But the grief, trauma, and physical isolation of the last two years have driven Americans to a breaking point.

In his 2022 State of the Union address, the President described the importance of transforming how we address mental health in the US and announced a strategy to address our national mental health crisis.

Said the agency: “At OFCCP, we’re proud to join our colleagues at the Department of Labor in advancing inclusive, mental health-friendly workplaces. We promote equal employment opportunity for individuals with disabilities by enforcing Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which prohibits federal contractors and subcontractors from discriminating in employment against individuals with disabilities. We also provide compliance assistance to federal contractors to remove barriers to equal employment opportunity, including by providing reasonable accommodations. Workplace practices inclusive of people with disabilities, whether visible or not, benefits business and can result in greater productivity, reduced insurance costs, and improved employee retention and morale. The Department of Labour, through the Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP), announced a public education campaign to promote mental health-friendly workplaces.

“Additionally, OFCCP has joined partners across the federal government to address the equity implications of the use of algorithmic decision-making in employment. The Biden-Harris Administration’s mental health unity agenda aims to “[s]top discriminatory algorithmic decision-making that limits opportunities for young Americans.” The use of algorithms, including artificial intelligence (AI) in hiring and recruitment and its impact on people with mental health conditions is an important issue for OFCCP. As contractors increasingly use algorithmic screens to filter out candidates during the hiring process, individuals with disabilities, including mental health conditions, can be unfairly screened out due to inputs in the algorithmic screen that may exclude qualified individuals for reasons that are not job-related. OFCCP is examining this issue through its enforcement, and through the Hiring Initiative to Reimagine Equity (HIRE), a joint initiative launched with the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) in January 2022. In addition, the EEOC and the US Department of Justice each recently released technical assistance documents about disability discrimination when employers use artificial intelligence (AI) and other software tools to make employment decisions.”

The Department of Labor, including OFCCP, has many resources to help employers create an inclusive workforce and to educate workers on accommodations that are available to support their mental health:

• OFCCP’s resource Best Practices for Creating an Inclusive Workplace includes practices for fostering a mental health-friendly workplace.
• To assist contractors with Section 503 compliance, OFCCP’s website contains several resources, including a sample affirmative action programme and on-site guide; aids for encouraging self-identification of disability; and tools to assist in outreach and recruitment efforts to individuals with disabilities.
• To assist workers, OFCCP’s website contains frequently asked questions and a Disability Rights Fact Sheet, available in several languages. Additionally, OFCCP has a Requesting Reasonable Accommodation pocket card, which explains in plain language how to request a reasonable accommodation.

ODEP has a number of mental health resources for employers and individuals.

Employer Assistance and Resource Network on Disability Inclusion (EARN) offers several resources on mental health, including a Mental Health Toolkit for fostering a mentally healthy workplace.