Disabling Disparate Impact Claims: Recognizing Long COVID as a Disability Will Protect Affected Workers as Return to the Office Mandates Mount
Author: Michael Hatch
As the United States looks to put COVID-19 behind it, employers are slowly
but surely making the pivot to return-to-office mandates. The impact of such a
shift will inevitably lead to some segments of the population being forced to
make a decision: lose their job because they do not want to return to in-person
activities or return to the office (RTO) and risk their health because they are a at a
greater risk for contracting COVID-19. This shift will ultimately force
Americans who should qualify as persons with a disability under the ADA or
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act to resort to the law to file disparate impact
claims to secure reasonable accommodations from their employers. While
employers are ready to make the push to return to in-person activities, those
suffering from Long-COVID might be left with the ultimate choice: refuse RTO
requirements and risk their job or return to the office and risk their life. With
choices like that available, the Court needs to reconsider its jurisprudence on
disparate impact claims and clearly delineate the legal boundaries of disparate
disability impact claims amidst a continuing global health crisis. Recognizing
disparate impact claims for those suffering from Long-COVID will allow persons
living with this disability to continue to participate in society while being provided
reasonable accommodations from their employers in order to continue to safely
perform their jobs while protecting their own health.