Telework, Covid, and the ADA

The pandemic has forced many changes on society, and the traditional workplace has certainly not been exempt from those changes. COVID-19, a virus which has taken hundreds of thousands of lives in America since early 2020, has especially important implications for employees with pre-existing medical conditions.

While all of us need to take precautions in the workplace, employees with various disabilities may need to telework, even though their non-disabled counterparts can return to the office. However, requests of this nature have not always been met favorably by employers.

I have worked successfully with a number of employees to request telework as a reasonable accommodation to ensure their safety during the pandemic. Case law is already developing in this area, and a skilled employment attorney can use it to help employees stay on the job , while accommodating their medical needs and the interests of their employer. I stand ready to assist any employees who may believe they are being subjected to discrimination based upon a disability in the area of telework.