ABSTRACT
Psychiatric evaluations for the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) most commonly involve employment cases (Title I). ese employment cases are unique among other types of mental health disability evaluations. Oen, the evaluee is hoping to remain working, whereas in many other disability assessments the evaluee seeks to establish proof of an inability to work (Gold and Shuman 2009). In the past decade the landscape of ADA evaluations and ADA cases has changed dramatically. e passage of the ADA Amendments Act in 2008 and the release of subsequent guidance from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) (the agency charged with enforcing Title I of the ADA) have brought signicant changes in the denitions and standards involved in ADA cases, particularly with respect to psychiatric disabilities (Regenbogen and Recupero 2012; Recupero and Harms 2013). Title II of the ADA, which covers Public Entities, has also impacted psychiatric practice through cases like Olmstead v. L.C. (1999), which protect the civil rights of psychiatrically disabled persons to be free from discrimination. is chapter discusses ADA evaluations in the context of the 2008 Amendments and subsequent EEOC guidance and focuses on Title I employment cases. Readers who plan to conduct ADA evaluations should review the EEOC documents and additional resources on ADA evaluations before agreeing to do so, as this chapter provides only a cursory introduction.
