EEOC releases guidance on returning employees to work and ADA compliance

Excerpted from The National Law Review by Gary Enis and Alan J. Marcuis

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the EEOC has periodically released updates to its Technical Assistance Questions and Answers, “What You Should Know About COVID-19 and the ADA, the Rehabilitation Act, and Other EEO Laws,” which Hunton previously posted about here and here. These questions and answers have provided employers with much needed guidance on the EEOC’s position on how employers can ensure the safety of their employees while at the same time not running afoul of the ADA.

On May 5, 2020, and then again on May 7, 2020, the EEOC updated its Technical Assistance Questions and Answers. These latest updates address the EEOC’s position on whether, and in which circumstances, an employer may prevent an employee from returning to work because the employer knows the employee has a medical condition that will place the employee at a higher risk of severe illness if the employee were to contract COVID-19 (e.g., those with chronic lung disease, asthma, heart disease, or are immunocompromised).
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