New England Biz Law Update
Little League is back, which means the full production is back too — walk-up songs that make no sense for a 5-year-old, parents treating warmups like Game 7, and car rides home that somehow turn into life lessons.
It’s my fourth year of coaching, so I figured I’d seen it all. But then I encountered an 8:00 T-ball game for kids ages 4 or 5 with no snacks. At first, it was confusion — kids checking the dugout like they’d missed an announcement. Then suspicion. Then full-blown conspiracy theories. Someone accused the other team of stealing the snacks. Another suggested the parents “forgot on purpose.” It was chaos. Tiny, emotional, completely irrational chaos. And underneath it, something very real: disappointment, frustration, and a bunch of kids who didn’t quite know what to do with those feelings.
Standing there, it hit me that these moments sneak up on you. They don’t come with a warning label. One minute everything’s normal and the next you’re in the middle of something that matters, and you’re hoping you respond the right way.
That feeling doesn’t stay on the field. In the workplace, it just looks different. It might be someone saying they’re done. Or showing up in a way that feels off. The reality is you don’t have to be an expert to respond well. But you also can’t ignore it.
Here are three things for employers to consider so they can support people while still meeting legal responsibilities. Because even if you didn’t sign up to be the first line of response in someone else’s hard moment … sometimes, you are.
Train managers
Train managers to notice when something’s off, because they usually see it first. If someone’s disappearing, slipping, or saying things that feel heavier than normal, don’t ignore it. Check in like a human, not a detective, and loop in HR rather than trying to play therapist. And remember that providing support doesn’t mean prying. Stick to what matters and leave the diagnoses to someone else.
Consider ADA/leave obligations
When employee mental health comes into play, you’re immediately in ADA, FMLA, and state law territory whether you planned on it or not. That can include leave, schedule changes, or other accommodations handled through an interactive process rather than assumptions. HR should step in early when attendance or performance starts to slip. Substance use issues can also overlap here, sometimes qualifying as a disability. But employers still must maintain a safe workplace, meaning there’s a clear line between an underlying condition, lawful medication use, treatment participation, and actual impairment on the job.
Develop internal procedures
You need a clear internal process for handling workplace crises, and people need to know it exists before something happens. In some states, most employers are required to have workplace violence prevention plans, and even beyond that OSHA expects action when there’s a known risk. The best move is a simple written plan that outlines who to call, when to involve emergency services or other resources, and when to loop in legal counsel.
Whether it’s an 8 a.m. T-ball game unraveling over missing snacks or something far more serious unfolding in the workplace, you’re often not reacting to the obvious moment but to what’s underneath it. Managers and HR teams don’t need to have all the answers in real time, but they do need a clear process, basic training, and the confidence to respond instead of freezing. Because in the end, your role isn’t to solve everything but rather to recognize when something is off, slow things down, and connect people to the right support before a small moment turns into something much bigger.
Stephen Scott is a partner in the Portland office of Fisher Phillips, a national firm dedicated to representing employers’ interests in all aspects of workplace law. Contact him at 503-205-8094 or [email protected].
