Making a stink at work (literally)

I bet many of us can think of past (or present) coworkers who were not pleasant to work with for different reasons. Sometimes personalities clash and work ethics differ. Even personal habits and hygiene can cause conflict, particularly in a close working environment.

The Smoking Gun recently ran two stories about a recent written citation at the Social Security Administration given to an employee for "uncontrollable flatulence" that created a hostile and intolerable work environment for coworkers. The first story details the citation (part of a formal progressive discipline process), and also provides the full 5-page letter given to the employee - including accounts of prior meetings with supervisors discussing the matter and a detailed timeline of the recent flatulence episodes.

A month later, the second story followed up with a report that the formal reprimand had been withdrawn after scrutiny from higher management, even before the initial story had been exposed.

Personal habits and hygiene can be a touchy situation in a work environment. Was the written reprimand warranted? I don't know. I suppose only the employee's coworkers know the extent of the problem. But I know that I have had experiences of having to discuss body odor, perfume smells, and bad breath with employees under my supervision, and it is always awkward and embarrassing for both parties. However, I have never had to resort to a formal warning or written documentation. And for that, I am grateful. 

Reasonable Accommodation for Mental Health Issues: The Case of The Houston Rockets and Royce White

Reasonable accommodation is the legal term for an organization's responsibility to enable a qualified individual to perform their job, usually in the case of religious beliefs or disability. For example, an employer may have to avoid scheduling an employee to work on Sunday if the employee's religion prohibits such activity. Similarly, the way a workspace is designed may have to change for an employee with physical disabilities, such as a wheelchair. Other accommodations of work duties, schedules, dress codes, or other company practices may have to be made is similar situations of religious observance or disability.

An accommodation is considered reasonable as long as it does not constitute an undue hardship to the employer. What constitutes and undo hardship may depend on the situation, the expense, the size of the company, their financial situation, the type of company, etc.

With regards to religious observance and physical disabilities, reasonable accommodation are fairly straight forward and reasonably well understood. But what constitutes reasonable accommodation or undue hardship for a mental health issue such as an anxiety disorder?

image from bleacherreport.com

In one high profile example, the NBA's Houston Rockets drafted Royce White, a basketball player with admitted mental health challenges, including anxiety that could affect his ability to perform his job. For example, he is extremely afraid of flying. For a professional basketball player who is on the road for half of the season's games, that is a big hurdle to overcome.

In a video interview from USA today, White's desire to have a trained mental health professional available to diagnose his condition before games seems reasonable. And his argument equating mental health to physical health is compelling. Legislation such as the Mental Health Parity Act of 1996 and the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 require health care plans that cover mental health to cover them in an equal manner to physical health coverage. However, these do not mandate that health care plans even cover mental health. And the 2008 law is still waiting for a final ruling from President Obama.

On the other hand, it seems that some of White's demands may be outside the bounds of reasonable accommodation. He reportedly wouldn't accept an assignment in the NBA's developmental league, which earned him a suspension without pay for breach of contract. And, as discussed by Sports Illustrated's Phil Taylor in the January 21 issue, even the request for medical decisions to be made by mental health professionals may not be doable under the the collective bargaining agreement (CBA) between the NBA and the players' union (though one of the problems may be that mental health is not adequately address in the CBA).

The Rockets have tried to make some concessions, such as paying for ground transportation to away games when feasible. But how much does an organization have to do before it falls outside the realm of reasonable accommodation? If, even after attempting some forms of accommodation, the disability (physical or mental) significantly inhibits the ability of an individual (such as White) to perform the job (consistently play basketball at an NBA level), then it could be argued that the individual is thus not qualified for the job.

Recent reports suggest that the Rockets and White may be close to a deal, and I certainly hope this is the case. I am not sure what the right answer is or where to draw the "reasonable accommodation/undue hardship" line - only that more discussion into the often-ignored subject of mental health issues in the workplace is needed. This is one high profile example, but there are probably thousands of individuals and numerous organizations trying to navigate similar situations without much of a road map to guide them.