Depression Is a Disability

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission recently settled a lawsuit against a company who terminated an employee shortly after they returned from a leave related to a disability.  The EEOC’s lawsuit claimed that employee told his employer, Ranew Management Company, that he suffered from severe depression and needed three weeks off of work, which was recommended by his doctor.  The employer told the employee to take as much time as he needed.  After six weeks of leave, the employee tried to return to work and gave Ranew a return to work note from his doctor.  Instead of allowing him to return, Ranew told him that it could no longer trust him to perform his job and fired him.  This alleged conduct is a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of a disability and requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations.  See No. 5:21-CV-00443-MTT (M.D. Ga.).