Working From Home: A Reasonable Accommodation In A COVID-19 World

As noted in last week's HR Legalist, as places of business are re-opening this Fall, employers should expect requests to continue working remotely, as working from home has become the new norm. Employers are not necessarily obligated to agree to every request to work from home. An important consideration for employers in deciding such requests involves those employees who qualify as being "disabled" under the Americans with Disabilities Act ("ADA") or similar state or local laws, which prohibit employers from discriminating against qualified employees with a disability, on the basis of such disability.

THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT

As a threshold matter, the ADA applies to employers with 15 or more employees. An employee is a qualified individual if they have a disability and can perform the essential functions of the job with or without reasonable accommodation, have a record of being disabled, or are regarded by the employer as being disabled. A protected