Evaluating Claims for Workplace Discrimination: A Five-Stage Model

Psychological assessment for workplace discrimination is often complex, as each complainant has a particular personal history and context, including different coping skills, psychopathologies and unique life circumstances. A five-stage model based on best practice guidelines can assist forensic assessment practitioners in determining compensatory damages for psychological or psychiatric injuries and in formulating defensible, evidence-based reports that meet legal standards. The model incorporates legally relevant theories of causation to guide the evaluating psychologist to discern the nature and extent of any injury, and whether discrimination was the likely proximate cause. The focus not on diagnosis but on functional performance (cognitive, affective, interpersonal and physical) in four key contexts: activities of daily living, relationships, the workplace and hedonic pursuits. Assessment compares functioning in the complainant's life up until the 'day before' the alleged discrimination event with the complainant's condition at the time of the alleged discrimination, and any symptoms or reactions experienced subsequently. The five-stage model provides a systematic method to examine workplace discrimination compensatory damages claims and increase the comprehensiveness and accuracy of the forensic evaluation.