Working during COVID-19 with a mental health disability – Globe and Mail

Is it harder to find a job during the pandemic if you have a disability?

Lior Samfiru is a Canadian employment lawyer and co-founding partner at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP. He was interviewed by K.J. Aiello for the Globe and Mail to provide his expert opinion on the difficulties individuals with mental health disabilities face while trying to find employment during COVID-19.

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Employment lawyers in the Globe and Mail

What They Discussed

Prior to the pandemic, Canadians with mental health disabilities would often find barriers to finding work and limited options in terms of employment. As COVID-19 continues, many people are facing difficulties returning to work with worsening mental health conditions. Will mental health issues tied to the pandemic be properly addressed in the workplace?

“I’ve been practicing going on 20 years, and I’ve never seen so many mental health disability claims in such a short period of time,” Samfiru states, “this isn’t going to go away any time soon.”

Many people who, prior to the pandemic considered themselves mentally healthy, are now suffering from an onset of mental health illnesses related to COVID-19. “I think that our legal system has to come into the 21st century,” Samfiru says.