Your best candidate is mentally disabled, now what? About 1% of the working population is considered to be mentally disabled, according to the EEOC. A mental disability can be something like a diagnosable mental disorder or a significant impairment on a person’s ability to socialize or learn. “Employers have to focus on whether the employee can perform the essential functions of the job,†Wilson says. “Just because the person has an impairment, it doesn’t mean the person should be foreclose from doing a job or being hired from a job. You have to focus more on whether the person can perform the function of the job.â€