“I sit on a man’s back choking him and making him carry me, and yet assure myself and others that I am sorry for him and wish to lighten his load by all means possible… except by getting off his back” (Tolstoy, 1886). Declining enrollment in educator preparation programs coupled with increasing rates of teacher attrition has directed focus onto how to improve working conditions and teachers’ satisfaction with their jobs and environment. One of the supports often considered is an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) that provides, often as part of a benefits package, access to mental and emotional counseling and other services. Before an institution uses an EAP, there are policy and legal considerations that should be reviewed to protect the employer and to ensure that an EAP functions as support, not a hindrance or “ gotcha” for employees. This presentation will share several pertinent lawsuits that highlight the importance of clear and unambiguous policy about the use of the EAP, as well as some of the strengths and challenges of using an EAP as an employee benefit. We will finish with policy implications as institutions implement an EAP. Time permitting, we will also examine criticism of such programs as simply applying a band aid where a tourniquet is needed, and as Tolstoy might suggest, that systemic change in matters of funding, compensation, discipline, the role of parents and other major political and social issues need to be addressed instead of working to moderate the behaviors and attitudes of those who are still committed to public education.