Dealing with a hostile work environment is a daunting experience that can impact a person’s mental and physical health. When the stress and strain of such an environment cause a disability, it is crucial to understand how the hostile work environment can affect a claim for disability benefits.

What is a Hostile Work Environment?

Unwelcome conduct from colleagues, supervisors, or even clients that is severe or pervasive enough to create an intimidating, hostile, or abusive working atmosphere characterizes a hostile work environment. This can include harassment, discrimination, bullying, and other forms of mistreatment. To be legally actionable, the behavior must be discriminatory, meaning that it is based on race, gender, religion, age, disability, or other protected characteristics.

Impact of a Hostile Work Environment on Mental Health

A hostile work environment can profoundly affect a person’s mental health. Prolonged exposure to such negative conditions can lead to anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and other mental health issues. These conditions can severely impair a person’s ability to perform his job, which may make it necessary to take medical leave from work or to make a claim for disability benefits.

Disability Claims Involving a Hostile Work Environment

One may assume that if a hostile work environment renders a person unable to perform their job, they should file a claim for disability benefits. However, it is important to understand that many policies will not pay disability benefits where the disability is because of workplace issues, including a hostile work environment. These policies will use language that defines an occupation based on the “national economy. The analysis determines if a person can perform that occupation, as it is performed in a national economy, without a hostile work environment, to define their disability according to the policy.

For example, if you manage a shipping/receiving warehouse and you can no longer work there because you are harassed by other employees in the warehouse, if your group disability policy defines “occupation” as one performed in the national economy, your claim will likely be denied because while you may be unable to work in that particular warehouse, you are not disabled from working in another shipping/receiving warehouse with different personnel and a different environment. The theory is that while you may not be able to work in one warehouse, you can find a new job at a different warehouse where there is no hostile work environment; if you are truly “disabled” under the policy, you would not be able to perform at any warehouse because your disability is caused by your medical condition, rather than to your work environment.

Where a policy does not contain “national economy” language, the analysis done to determine whether benefits are payable is likely a more straightforward question of whether the claimant is able to perform his occupation as defined locally.  Thus, in the above example, if you cannot continue working in your specific occupation as a shipping/receiving manager for your particular employer, your disability claim should not be denied for that reason (note that your claim may still be denied for many other reasons).

Medical Evidence and Documentation

If you believe that you have a covered disability claim, medical evidence is the cornerstone of any disability benefits claim. To substantiate your disability claim, you will need to provide medical records evidencing the condition on which your claim is based. Therefore, it is crucial to understand that if you have discussed issues at work with any of your doctors, the insurance company might deny your claim based on those workplace issues. Just as insurance companies will “cherry-pick” medical evidence and focus only on evidence that do not support a claim, despite the evidence taken as a whole in fact supporting the claim, they will also focus on any mention of issues with a workplace or co-workers, even if the evidence taken as a whole demonstrates that a disabling condition is not caused by workplace issues.

It is thus vital to know the contents of your medical records. The insurance company could spin even something as seemingly innocuous as “I have a difficult co-worker” to mean that your difficulties with a particular co-worker are causing your inability to perform your occupation.

Taking Legal Action Beyond a Disability Claim

Many people who experience a hostile work environment and have become unable to work initially take the position that they should make a claim for disability benefits under an insurance policy and should also file a lawsuit against the employer for harassment or similar claims. However, this approach may be a recipe for failure of your disability claim.

For example, assume your insurance company denied your disability claim and appeal, so you file a lawsuit to recover disability benefits due you under the policy. By claiming in a lawsuit to be entitled to disability benefits, you are inherently claiming that if not for your disabling condition, you would otherwise be able to continue working. Assume further that you had consulted with an employment attorney and file a lawsuit for damages based on a hostile work environment. By making such a claim, you are inherently taking the position that if not for the hostile work environment, you would be able to continue working at your job.

This can create a conflict that causes both of your lawsuits to fail: the insurance company will point to your employment-based lawsuit and take the position that because you are claiming that without the hostile work environment, you would be able to work – and you must therefore not be disabled from working due to your medical condition. Meanwhile, your employer will point to your disability claim in order to downplay the hostile work environment claim, and take the position that based on your disability claim, you must have stopped working because of your disability and not because of a hostile work environment.

This could result in both of your lawsuits getting dismissed, leaving you with no way to recover your disability benefits or damages.

Conclusion

A hostile work environment can negatively affect your ability to perform your job. Being unable to perform your job can have devastating effects on every aspect of your life and could lead to a need for your to make a claim for disability benefits. In such a situation, it is crucial to understand completely how your potential claims may impact one another. If you or someone you know has become disabled and needs to submit a claim for disability benefits or navigate these issues, reach out to McKennon Law Group PC now for a free consultation.