Employers can play a key role in preventing suicides and improving the mental health of workers.
Employee Assistance Programs or EAPs are work-based intervention programs designed to identify and help employees address personal issues.
“These personal problems can run the gamut, including marital, financial or emotional problems; family issues; or difficulties with substance and alcohol abuse,” said Lorie Maring, an attorney at national labor and employment law firm Fisher Phillips.
Maring said more executives want to implement EAPs, but they worry about the legal compliance issues and lack of employee interest.
"Occasionally, we see employers abandon the comprehensive wellness programs and EAPs after discovering that they’re regulated as group health plans under federal law, which creates a host of issues for both the employer and employees,” Maring added.
Maring said EAPs can make a big difference if implemented carefully according to the law.
