Akin Gump Labor and Employment Attorneys Author Corporate Counsel Business Journal Article on EEOC’s COVID-19 Guidance
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“EEOC Issues Updated Guidance on COVID-19 and Federal Disability Discrimination Laws,” an article by Akin Gump labor and employment partner Esther Lander and senior counsel Anastasia Kerdock and counsel James Crowley, has been published by Corporate Counsel Business Journal.
The article looks at new guidance from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) regarding how employers can appropriately respond to COVID-19 when hiring new employees, while protecting current ones and bringing them back to work post-pandemic.
The authors note that employers “are permitted to screen job applicants for COVID-19 after making a conditional offer of employment without violating the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), so long as the employer does so for all entering employees in the same type of job.” For current employees, the article says the guidelines address temperature and COVID-19 checks before entering a workspace; asking employees about exposure, symptoms and diagnoses; notifying employees of potential exposure; and protecting vulnerable employees.
As for the return to work, an employer may require “employees to wear protective gear (such as masks and gloves) and observe infection control practices (such as regular hand washing and social distancing protocols),” the authors write. Employers should, however, discuss with employees any ADA or religious accommodations that are needed.
To read the original client alert, please click here.
