{"id":2395,"date":"2017-10-30T21:48:18","date_gmt":"2017-10-30T21:48:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/screening.mhanational.org\/article\/can-i-be-fired-for-my-mental-illness\/"},"modified":"2025-08-26T15:28:41","modified_gmt":"2025-08-26T19:28:41","slug":"can-i-be-fired-my-mental-illness","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/screening.mhanational.org\/es\/content\/can-i-be-fired-my-mental-illness\/","title":{"rendered":"Can I be fired for my mental illness?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The Americans with Disabilities Acts (ADA) protects employees from discrimination based on a disability\u2014including <a href=\"https:\/\/screening.mhanational.org\/es\/content\/what-is-mental-illness-a-sciency-article\/\">mental health conditions like depression or anxiety<\/a>. That means you cannot legally be fired just because you have one of the following:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>a physical or mental impairment that <strong>substantially limits one or more major life activities<\/strong>;<\/li>\n<li>a <strong>history <\/strong>of such a disability, or if an employer <strong>believes<\/strong> that you have one, even if you don\u2019t; or<\/li>\n<li>a <strong>record<\/strong> of, or being <strong>regarded<\/strong> as, having such an impairment.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>That\u2019s great news\u2014but there\u2019s some fine print.<\/p>\n<h2>Telling your employer about your mental illness<\/h2>\n<p>In order for the ADA to protect you, you have to tell your employer that you have a mental illness. Many people feel uncomfortable doing this, and that\u2019s okay. But your employer can\u2019t be held accountable for what they don\u2019t know.<\/p>\n<p>If your mental illness is starting to interfere with your work, it may be a good idea to disclose it anyway. For example, if you\u2019re having trouble making it to work on time because your anxiety makes it hard to get enough sleep, your employer may be more understanding than if they think you\u2019re just being lazy.<\/p>\n<p>Most companies have a human resources (HR) representative that you can talk to, instead of just telling your boss. HR representatives often have backgrounds in psychology and tend to be more empathetic. You also don\u2019t report to them for your daily job duties, which makes it less awkward. If you still need to talk to your boss about it, the HR representative can be with you to provide support while you do.<\/p>\n<h2>Reasonable accommodations<\/h2>\n<p>Telling your employer about your mental illness has another possible advantage: you can ask for \u201creasonable accommodations.\u201d Maybe they can switch you to a later shift so it\u2019s not so hard to get there on time. Or they may give you more flexibility with your work hours so that you can attend your doctor\u2019s appointments. Little things like this can go a long way in making your job more manageable.<\/p>\n<h2>Other considerations<\/h2>\n<p>There are a few other catches you should be aware of:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>You still need to be able to complete the essential duties of the job. The ADA can\u2019t protect you from things like being underqualified, or from anything that\u2019s not directly related to your mental illness.<\/li>\n<li>Not all accommodations are considered \u201creasonable.\u201d If you need too much help to complete your job duties, your employer can argue that the accommodations create an \u201cundue hardship\u201d for the company.<\/li>\n<li>Your employer can also let you go if your mental illness poses a direct threat to anyone\u2019s safety.<\/li>\n<li>The ADA does not apply to companies with fewer than 15 employees.<\/li>\n<li>Your employer may ask for documentation of your mental illness. <a href=\"https:\/\/screening.mhanational.org\/es\/screening-tools\/\">Our mental health tests<\/a> are a great start for many people&#8217;s mental health journeys&#8230;\u00a0but they don\u2019t count as a diagnosis. Only a qualified professional (usually a doctor or a therapist) can provide you with the documentation you need.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>FMLA<\/h2>\n<p>The ADA isn\u2019t the only legal protection you have for mental health issues that affect your work. The <a href=\"https:\/\/screening.mhanational.org\/es\/content\/can-i-use-fmla-mental-health\/\">Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)<\/a> can also help you get time off or other accommodations.<\/p>\n<h2>I got fired. What do I do now?<\/h2>\n<p>If you\u2019re reading this because you already <a href=\"https:\/\/screening.mhanational.org\/es\/content\/i-got-fired-from-my-job-because-of-my-addiction-or-mental-illness\/\">got fired for your mental illness<\/a>, you can pursue legal action against the company that fired you. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eeoc.gov\/field\/\">Contact your local field office of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)<\/a> for help.<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"button blue round caret collapsed\" href=\"#references\" data-toggle=\"collapse\" aria-expanded=\"false\" aria-controls=\"references\" data-toggle-text=\"Hide References\">Mostrar referencias<\/a><\/p>\n<div id=\"references\" class=\"references collapse\">\n<ul>\n<li>Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990, Pub. L. No. 101-336, 104 Stat. 328 (1990). Retrieved from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ada.gov\/pubs\/adastatute08.htm\">https:\/\/www.ada.gov\/pubs\/adastatute08.htm<\/a><\/li>\n<li>U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. <em>Depression, PTSD &amp; Other Mental Health Conditions in the Workplace: Your Legal Rights<\/em>. Obtenido de <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eeoc.gov\/eeoc\/publications\/mental_health.cfm\">https:\/\/www.eeoc.gov\/eeoc\/publications\/mental_health.cfm<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Lecturas adicionales<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Ohikuare, Judith. (2018, June 28). <em>Is it illegal for a company to fire you for being depressed?<\/em> Obtenido de <a href=\"https:\/\/www.refinery29.com\/en-us\/2018\/06\/202151\/how-to-tell-hr-about-depression-disability\">https:\/\/www.refinery29.com\/en-us\/2018\/06\/202151\/how-to-tell-hr-about-depression-disability<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Schimelpfening, Nancy. (2019, August 12). <em>What are your rights at work when you\u2019re depressed?<\/em> Obtenido de <a href=\"https:\/\/www.verywellmind.com\/the-ada-and-depression-know-your-rights-1065229\">https:\/\/www.verywellmind.com\/the-ada-and-depression-know-your-rights-1065229<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Americans with Disabilities Acts (ADA) protects employees from discrimination based on a disability\u2014including mental health conditions like depression or anxiety. That means you cannot legally be fired just because you have one of the following: a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities; a history of such a &hellip; <\/p>\n<p class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/screening.mhanational.org\/es\/content\/can-i-be-fired-my-mental-illness\/\" class=\"more-link\">Seguir leyendo<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Can I be fired for my mental illness?&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":0,"template":"","age_group":[23,100,19],"condition":[],"class_list":["post-2395","article","type-article","status-publish","hentry","age_group-11-17","age_group-over-18","age_group-under-11"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<title>Can I be fired for my mental illness?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/screening.mhanational.org\/es\/content\/can-i-be-fired-my-mental-illness\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"es_MX\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Can I be fired for my mental illness?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Americans with Disabilities Acts (ADA) protects employees from discrimination based on a disability\u2014including mental health conditions like depression or anxiety. That means you cannot legally be fired just because you have one of the following: a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities; a history of such a &hellip; Continue reading &quot;Can I be fired for my mental illness?&quot;\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/screening.mhanational.org\/es\/content\/can-i-be-fired-my-mental-illness\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Mental Health America\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/mentalhealthamerica\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-08-26T19:28:41+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/screening.mhanational.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Social-media-share-preview-articles.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"630\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@mentalhealtham\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"3 minutos\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/screening.mhanational.org\\\/content\\\/can-i-be-fired-my-mental-illness\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/screening.mhanational.org\\\/content\\\/can-i-be-fired-my-mental-illness\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"creynolds\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/screening.mhanational.org\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/9713cf05ab9e7a3da5671a76e5264fb7\"},\"headline\":\"Can I be fired for my mental illness?\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-10-30T21:48:18+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-08-26T19:28:41+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/screening.mhanational.org\\\/content\\\/can-i-be-fired-my-mental-illness\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":699,\"keywords\":[\"Workplace\"],\"inLanguage\":\"es\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/screening.mhanational.org\\\/content\\\/can-i-be-fired-my-mental-illness\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/screening.mhanational.org\\\/content\\\/can-i-be-fired-my-mental-illness\\\/\",\"name\":\"Can I be fired for my mental illness?\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/screening.mhanational.org\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2017-10-30T21:48:18+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-08-26T19:28:41+00:00\",\"inLanguage\":\"es\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/screening.mhanational.org\\\/content\\\/can-i-be-fired-my-mental-illness\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/screening.mhanational.org\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/screening.mhanational.org\\\/\",\"name\":\"MHA Screening\",\"description\":\"Start your mental health journey here.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/screening.mhanational.org\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"es\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/screening.mhanational.org\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/9713cf05ab9e7a3da5671a76e5264fb7\",\"name\":\"creynolds\"}]}<\/script>","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Can I be fired for my mental illness?","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/screening.mhanational.org\/es\/content\/can-i-be-fired-my-mental-illness\/","og_locale":"es_MX","og_type":"article","og_title":"Can I be fired for my mental illness?","og_description":"The Americans with Disabilities Acts (ADA) protects employees from discrimination based on a disability\u2014including mental health conditions like depression or anxiety. That means you cannot legally be fired just because you have one of the following: a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities; a history of such a &hellip; Continue reading \"Can I be fired for my mental illness?\"","og_url":"https:\/\/screening.mhanational.org\/es\/content\/can-i-be-fired-my-mental-illness\/","og_site_name":"Mental Health America","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/mentalhealthamerica","article_modified_time":"2025-08-26T19:28:41+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":630,"url":"https:\/\/screening.mhanational.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Social-media-share-preview-articles.png","type":"image\/png"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_site":"@mentalhealtham","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"3 minutos"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/screening.mhanational.org\/content\/can-i-be-fired-my-mental-illness\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/screening.mhanational.org\/content\/can-i-be-fired-my-mental-illness\/"},"author":{"name":"creynolds","@id":"https:\/\/screening.mhanational.org\/#\/schema\/person\/9713cf05ab9e7a3da5671a76e5264fb7"},"headline":"Can I be fired for my mental illness?","datePublished":"2017-10-30T21:48:18+00:00","dateModified":"2025-08-26T19:28:41+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/screening.mhanational.org\/content\/can-i-be-fired-my-mental-illness\/"},"wordCount":699,"keywords":["Workplace"],"inLanguage":"es"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/screening.mhanational.org\/content\/can-i-be-fired-my-mental-illness\/","url":"https:\/\/screening.mhanational.org\/content\/can-i-be-fired-my-mental-illness\/","name":"Can I be fired for my mental illness?","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/screening.mhanational.org\/#website"},"datePublished":"2017-10-30T21:48:18+00:00","dateModified":"2025-08-26T19:28:41+00:00","inLanguage":"es","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/screening.mhanational.org\/content\/can-i-be-fired-my-mental-illness\/"]}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/screening.mhanational.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/screening.mhanational.org\/","name":"Evaluaci\u00f3n de MHA","description":"Comienza aqu\u00ed tu camino hacia la salud mental.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/screening.mhanational.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"es"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/screening.mhanational.org\/#\/schema\/person\/9713cf05ab9e7a3da5671a76e5264fb7","name":"creynolds"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/screening.mhanational.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article\/2395","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/screening.mhanational.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/screening.mhanational.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/article"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/screening.mhanational.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/screening.mhanational.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2395"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"age_group","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/screening.mhanational.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/age_group?post=2395"},{"taxonomy":"condition","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/screening.mhanational.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/condition?post=2395"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}