In the COVID-19 world we are in today, the U.S. Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has established new rules to help
employers slow the spread of this devastating virus. While the EEOC
has created new and more flexible rules of permitted employer
conduct, the EEOC's guidance has continued to evolve. As an
example, the EEOC's publication on What you Should Know
About COVID-19 and the ADA, the Rehabilitation Act, and Other EEO
Laws,1 is in its sixth iteration since the
Commission initially published a set of Technical Assistance
Questions and Answers on March 17, 2020.2
As employees return to work from furloughs and layoffs, multiple
challenges will arise for employers. New workplace concerns and
obligations include taking day-to-day actions to limit the spread
of the virus, managing reasonable accommodation requests from those
returning to the worksite and from those wanting to continue to
work from home, and minimizing discrimination risks as
