Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) protects individuals who have been discriminated against by an employer because of a disability. Under Title I, the first avenue of recourse is filing an administrative charge of discrimination. Aggrieved individuals may also file a lawsuit in a federal court, but first must exhaust administrative remedies. We are currently funded by NIMH to assess how the administrative charge process is working for people with psychiatric disabilities (R01-MH57077). We propose a continuation study. The proposed study has three aims. First, it will continue assessing the impact of the evolving implementation of the Title I administrative charge process on individuals with psychiatric disabilities relative to individuals with other kinds of disabilities. This will involve analyzing data from the computerized database of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Second, it will evaluate the benefits obtained by individuals with psychiatric disabilities who file a Title I lawsuit as compared with the benefits obtained by individuals with other types of disabilities who file a Title I lawsuit, and examine factors that affect these benefits. This will involve extracting data from judicial files during visits to federal district courts and conducting telephone interviews with attorneys of Title I plaintiffs identified during the review of judicial files. Third, it will assess the subjective experiences of individuals who have filed Title I lawsuits and compare the experiences of individuals with psychiatric disabilities to those of individuals with other types of disabilities. This will involve conducting telephone interviews with Title I plaintiffs identified during the review of judicial files.
| Moss, Kathryn; Swanson, Jeffrey; Ullman, Michael et al. (2002) Mediation of employment discrimination disputes involving persons with psychiatric disabilities. Psychiatr Serv 53:988-94 |
| Ullman, M D; Johnsen, M C; Moss, K et al. (2001) The EEOC charge priority policy and claimants with psychiatric disabilities. Psychiatr Serv 52:644-9 |
| Moss, K; Ullman, M; Starrett, B E et al. (1999) Outcomes of employment discrimination charges filed under the Americans With Disabilities Act. Psychiatr Serv 50:1028-35 |
| Moss, K; Ullman, M; Johnsen, M C et al. (1999) Different paths to justice: the ADA, employment, and administrative enforcement by the EEOC and FEPAs. Behav Sci Law 17:29-46 |
