Stress of the pandemic taking increasing toll on teachers

By Tony Poland, LegalMatters Staff • Teachers dealing with mounting stress brought on by the coronavirus pandemic should not face their fears alone, especially when filing a disability insurance claim, says York Region disability insurance lawyer Courtney Mulqueen.

“We are finding there are many teachers who are contacting us suffering from depression, anxiety, and fatigue who need guidance when filing disability claims,” says Mulqueen, principal lawyer and CEO, Mulqueen Disability Law Professional Corporation. “The teachers we speak with are exhausted and overwhelmed and often don’t know what options are available to them or where to begin when it comes to going on sick leave or filing a long-term disability claim.  Throughout the pandemic, we’ve been keeping busy helping teachers with their disability claim forms and with their appeals or lawsuits, if their claims are not approved and they are not well enough to return to work.”

Last fall, CBC  conducted a poll of 10,000 school staff about their experiences in the classroom. Many spoke about the stress of monitoring students to ensure they’re following public health guidelines and the long hours they must work to adapt their teaching to new instruction methods.

‘Too much put on my shoulders’

“I am beyond stressed and dread going to work every day as too much has been put on my shoulders,” one teacher told the CBC. 

“Almost all of the teachers I know are on the verge of a nervous breakdown,” wrote another. “This is completely unsustainable.”

Mulqueen says that for some, the stress is not only leading to disability claims but more teachers are reportedly considering quitting the profession or retiring early, two things that she does not recommend  doing, if the reason they do not want to return to work is due to a physical or mental health related illness.

According to U.S. social policy think tank RAND.org, the pandemic “has added more stress to an already high-stress profession.”

Of 1,000 educators polled, almost half of those who voluntarily stopped teaching in public schools after March 2020 and before their scheduled retirement left because of COVID-19. Among the RAND findings:

• At least for some teachers, the COVID-19 pandemic seems to have exacerbated what were high stress levels pre-pandemic by forcing them to, among other things, work more hours and navigate an unfamiliar remote environment, often with frequent technical problems.
• Stress was the most common reason for leaving public school teaching early – almost twice as common as insufficient pay. This is corroborated by the fact that a majority of early leavers went on to take jobs with either less or around equal pay, and three in 10 went on to work at a job with no health insurance or retirement benefits.

Think of their work as more than a job

Mulqueen says teachers tend to think of their work as more than just a job.  

“For many, teaching is their passion and being a teacher is a big part of their identity.  They tend to go above and beyond what is required of them at work” she tells LegalMattersCanada.ca. “That’s why we’re finding that many teachers are pushing themselves to continue to work even while struggling to manage serious medical conditions.  When they are forced to stop, they often tell me that if there was any way they could work, they would and that they feel as though they are failing their students by taking time away to care for themselves.”

Mulqueen says that those teachers who have not dealt with stress or other medical conditions are not only risking their health, but might also be putting their jobs and professional reputations at risk.

“If a teacher is struggling with health issues, they are unlikely to be performing up to the standards that are expected of them by their employer, let alone up to their own high standards, which are sometimes even higher,” she says. “Teachers will often tell me that they stopped working because they became concerned that their illness was putting the safety and well being of their students at risk and was also lowering the quality of education they were capable of providing.

“They sometimes may fail to consider that continuing to work while unwell, could strain workplace relationships and also damage a teacher’s reputation particularly if a negative performance review finds its way into their employment file.”

Disputing a claim can be complicated

Ontario teachers have an excellent benefits plan through the Ontario Teachers Insurance Plan (OTIP) but filing a long-term disability (LTD) claim or disputing the denial of an LTD claim can be complicated, Mulqueen explains.

“Stress-related disability claims are always a challenge but these types of disability claims under the OTIP plan are particularly challenging.  OTIP claims have many moving parts, not the least of which is the impact of an LTD claim on a teacher’s pension and other benefits and on their future employment,” she says.  

“Teachers have a union to assist them but the pandemic has stretched many resources thin. Unions have a whole range of issues that they are dealing with during this pandemic. What I’m hearing time and again from teachers is that their union representatives are very busy and might not be readily available to help them with their LTD claims,” she says. “In any case, a union rep does not necessarily have the expertise needed to effectively assist teachers in getting their LTD claims approved or assisting through the OTIP appeal process or providing representation in litigation.

“Waiting for help is not an option for teachers because time is of the essence,” Mulqueen adds. “Not only should teachers be aware that there are deadlines for submitting an LTD claim and for submitting an appeal or starting a court action, if a claim is denied, but the longer the teacher is without any income, the greater their financial and emotional stress becomes. It is always best to move quickly on an LTD claim to avoid any lapse in income that could arise between the sick leave period and the LTD period.”

She says her firm is seeing a “notable increase” in inquiries from teachers about disability claims.

‘Teachers want to be prepared’

“Many of the teachers we’re speaking with are at the early stages of their claim and they are only recently coming to terms with the reality that they are not well enough to return to work and that they will need to submit an LTD claim,” says Mulqueen. “Teachers, like lawyers, want to be prepared, and for those suffering from mental health conditions, feeling prepared can significantly reduce the stress of making an LTD claim.”  

She says that not only do they want to know what information they need to submit their claim, they also ask want to know what they can expect from OTIP once they’ve done it.  

“They have very real concerns about the impact of their LTD claim on their pension and on their future employment, if they are not able to return to work anytime soon,” says Mulqueen, who now represents teachers when their LTD claims are denied.

She says that she is able to draw on her past experience working as an insurance lawyer defending OTIP claims, to provide teachers with insights and answers to difficult questions and concerns that are specific to the OTIP disability plan.

Proving a claim can be complicated

Mulqueen says part of what makes a teacher’s claim more complicated is that they have to prove that they are disabled from the “significant duties of their specific assignment.”

“What’s interesting here is that the pandemic has dramatically altered what a teacher’s significant duties are and some teachers are now unsure of what their specific assignment is for the purpose of making their LTD claim,” she\ says. “Pre-COVID, it might have been that a teacher was teaching in the classroom every day. Now, they may be teaching virtually every day, or they may be required to pivot from in-person to virtual teaching, at a moment’s notice.

“This ambiguity in terms of their specific assignment during COVID could have serious consequences on how their LTD claim is assessed and what it is they need to prove to ensure that their LTD benefits are paid.” 

One of the biggest questions she gets is how to prove a claim for mental health conditions.

“If you need to stop working, the first thing you should do is go to your family doctor so that your doctor can formulate a treatment plan for you and make the necessary referrals and prescriptions. What I always tell people is that what is good for your LTD claim is also going to be good for your health,” says Mulqueen. “Treatment is the most important thing. Teachers like all of us, need to advocate for themselves.  Referrals to appropriate specialists is key.  OTIP will look at treatment as an indicator of how serious the disabling condition is.”  

Psychiatrist report can help prove a claim

She says she has found that in her law practice, psychiatrist reports go a long way in proving a mental health disability claim.  

“If they or their doctors feel that a consultation with a psychiatrist could be helpful, they should get that referral as soon as possible,” Mulqueen says.

The pandemic has also left mental healthcare workers facing burnout and soaring demand, according to news reports, she says.

Not taking the steps to get help can lead to a claim being denied, says Mulqueen, so it is a good idea “to paper your claim with records that detail your condition.”

If a claim is denied there can still be steps to take.  You should not feel forced back to work before you are medically ready, she says.

‘Teachers may not know their rights’

“Some people don’t realize that they can actually hire a lawyer to help them dispute the denial of their claim,” says Mulqueen. “Teachers may not know what their rights are if their LTD claim is denied.  They may know that they have the option to go through the OTIP appeal process with the help of OTIP and their union, but they might not know that they also have the option to start a lawsuit as soon as their claim or appeal is denied.

“If they’ve already provided OTIP with everything they and their doctors have to support their claim, a lawsuit might turn out to be their option. Every case is different and there are many factors that we consider when we consult with teachers whose claims have been denied.”

She says “while it is always better to be teaching and never have to make that LTD claim, teachers need to put themselves first when it comes to their health.  

“Sometimes we remind teachers that they are paying for their LTD coverage for a reason and making an LTD claim could very well be the best thing to do if it means allowing them the time they need to focus on their treatment and recovery so that they can get back to doing what they love that much sooner,” Mulqueen says.