Name: Why the Return-to-Office Battle Is Turning Into a Disability Dispute
Uploaded: 2023-11-09T22:00:00Z
Duration: 7 min 22 s
Description: More employees are filing disability discrimination claims against their companies when work-from-home requests are denied. WSJ reporter Lauren Weber joins host J.R. Whalen to discuss. Photo: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg News

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More employees are filing disability discrimination claims against their companies when work-from-home requests are denied. WSJ reporter Lauren Weber joins host J.R. Whalen to discuss. Photo: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg News

https://m.wsj.net/video/20231109/b724c9fb-311d-462f-aa02-4db32f99f264/1/hls/manifest-hd-wifi.m3u8

Why the Return-to-Office Battle Is Turning Into a Disability Dispute

J.R.: Here's "Your Money Briefing" for Thursday, November 9th. I'm J.R. Whalen for the "Wall Street Journal". More employees who want to continue working from home are filing complaints against their companies, alleging disability discrimination. "Wall Street Journal" reporter Lauren Weber joins me. So Lauren, what symptoms are people listing when they file complaints?

Lauren: Well, the story came about because I noticed that there were a lot more complaints being filed to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for mental health conditions, what are often known as invisible disabilities, things like anxiety, depression, PTSD among others. In one year, from 2021 to 2022, the number of charges filed to the EEOC for those three conditions, anxiety, depression, and PTSD each rose by more than 16%, which is a huge jump in one year. And I'm really curious to see what that jump is gonna be into 2023. This of course, coincides with a lot of companies mandating that their employees return to work, and that's not a coincidence.

J.R.: Shouldn't the worker in the company be able to work this out before it rises to the level of the worker filing a complaint?

Lauren: Absolutely, and that is the point of the Americans with Disabilities Act. It has a provision that an employee brings to their employer, basically a statement saying, "I can do the essential functions of the job that's required, but I need certain accommodations, in order to do those essential functions." The employer is required to engage in what's known as the interactive process. So it's a legal requirement that employers basically negotiate. Now, it doesn't mean that an employee will get the first thing that they ask for. Let's say they want a work from home accommodation. Maybe they have ADHD, and they can't handle the distractions of an office. An employer can say, "instead of working from home, how about if we set you up in this quiet office over here where you'll have fewer distractions." So it's meant to be a negotiation.

J.R.: So you mentioned these claims are turning up at the EEOC. Is that the first place that people complain to or is there more or less a paper trail that eventually gets to the EEOC?

Lauren: Workers have two different ways that they can file a charge. The EEOC is the federal agency and anybody can file a charge there. That's generally a requirement before you file a lawsuit, you need to get a letter from the EEOC saying you have a right to sue. But there are also state agencies like state civil rights commissions or workers' rights commissions where people can also file charges. And in some cases, state laws are a little bit more pro worker than the federal laws. Some people may prefer to file charges in their state agency.

J.R.: What did the claims filed with the EEOC look like before the pandemic?

J.R.: Disability was a big source of claims. You know, you can file claims based on any kind of discrimination, disability is one of them. And one thing that was interesting that I heard from disability advocates was that people with disabilities have been fighting for remote work accommodations for decades. But the pandemic is really what changed everything, because for so many workers and employers, they adapted quickly, they bought the software needed to allow people to do video calls, et cetera from home. And so it became an accommodation that was much more available to people. Workers have shown I can do my work remotely. So there's a lot of frustration when an employer calls people back to work and then a worker feels that this is not the right environment for me.

J.R.: Yeah, for the better part of three years, people almost at all levels were working pretty well on a day in and day out basis from home without stepping foot in the office.

Lauren: Exactly, obviously not for all jobs. Plenty of jobs were still being done in person, but most office workers were required by their employers to work from home. There were lockdowns, there were many people who were able to work successfully from home, and many people feel they were even more productive at home.

J.R.: So when the conflict arises, does this process require the worker to prove they either have an existing disability or mental illness or that returning to the office could make it worse?

Lauren: Because of privacy rules, employers can't ask specific questions about a diagnosis or about someone's condition, but they can ask for documentation about the limitations. So that's what I heard from a lot of lawyers is you have to focus on the limitations. So many people can have a psychiatrist or a doctor send an information about what a person's limitations are and what they recommend as accommodations.

J.R.: So as you're seeing these claims rise and the conflict rising and efforts for resolution on both sides, where is the balance of power leveling out here?

Lauren: By law, employers are required to go through this interactive process. So they can't just say, "no, I refuse," or they can't fire someone just for asking. That could lead to a charge of discrimination right off the bat. Again, it's meant to be a negotiation. One person shouldn't be dictating the answer here.

J.R.: How much of this is simply part of the tensions between companies wanting people back in the office and workers just simply wanting to work from home?

Lauren: There is a common response of skepticism to these accommodation requests, and I spoke to management side lawyers who think, "well, you know, come on, you may be happier working from home, but that doesn't mean that you have to work from home because you're anxious or depressed or something." But the fact is, a lot of people do suffer from conditions and many either suffered silently or asked for accommodations and were told, "no, that's an undue burden on the employer and therefore we're gonna reject that remote work request." These conditions are real, they're invisible, and so it's harder for people to make the case that they need them, but it's a mistake for employers and others to discount that people do actually suffer from a lot of these conditions and are more productive at home.

J.R.: Could this rise in cases have a larger impact on return to office policies more broadly?

Lauren: If there are a lot of cases and the data indicate that there are quite a few charges being filed out there on this basis, if companies are spending a fair amount of time or money in litigation or trying to mediate or settle these requests, they might find in the end it's not worth it. The argument now for bringing people back is we need the collaboration. It's better for innovation to have people here, but is it impossible to have the innovation and collaboration you need if someone is either working remotely or maybe is coming into the office one day a week rather than four days a week? The thing to keep an eye on is flexibility and how companies are going to think about that going forward.

J.R.: That's "Wall Street Journal" reporter Lauren Weber, and that's it for "Your Money Briefing." We'll be back tomorrow morning with WSJ's Jessica Chou to discuss the best ways to save enough money for a walkaway fund so you can say adios to your job. This episode was produced by Ariana Aspuru with supervising producer Melony Roy. I'm J.R. Whalen for the "Wall Street Journal." Thanks for listening.

WSJ's Your Money Briefing podcast is your personal-finance and career checklist. Finance reporters and experts break down complicated money questions every weekday to help you make better decisions about managing your money. 