EEOC Clarifies When COVID-19 Is A Disability

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is offering employers new guidance as to when, and under what circumstances, COVID-19 can be considered a disability under federal anti-discrimination laws.

The  COVID-19 technical assistance applies to the Americans with Disabilities Act ("ADA"), which applies to private employers, and the Rehabilitation Act, which similarly prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in programs conducted by federal agencies, in programs receiving federal financial assistance, in federal employment and in the employment practices of federal contractors.

Highlights from the guidance include the following:

• In some cases, an applicant's or employee's COVID-19 diagnosis may cause impairments that are themselves disabilities under the ADA, regardless of whether the initial case of COVID-19 itself constituted an actual disability.