The Americans with Disabilities Act was adopted to address the biases faced by people with disabilities. Stories regularly report how employees with certain disabilities are at risk of discharge. Research shows that hidden disabilities—such as mental illness—carry a particularly heavy stigma in the workplace because employers often have preconceived notions about the effect of a person’s mental health on their job performance. While the ADA requires that employers accommodate these disabilities, in order to obtain those accommodations employees must reveal their disabilities to their employer.

This vicious circle was worsened for federal employees by a recent decision of the Merit Systems Protection Board in Haas v. DHS. George Haas, who had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, worked as a Customs and Border Protection officer at the Port of Houston Airport. His duties involved questioning arriving passengers and reviewing their documentation, and there was no indication of any issues arising from his condition. When Haas was reassigned to a different position involving passengers who required additional questioning, he asserted that his medical restrictions prevented him from performing these new duties and he requested accommodation. The agency promptly revoked Haas’s ability to carry a firearm, and ultimately removed him based on its determination that his bipolar diagnosis rendered him unable to perform the essential functions of his position.

Limiting Protection for...

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