The EEOC Issues Updated Guidance On Workplace COVID-19 Testing

Until recently, employers had broad discretion to determine whether their employees were required to take COVID-19 tests prior to entering the workplace. However, newly released guidance from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) notes that, as of July 12, 2022, employers must show that mandatory COVID-19 testing is "job-related and consistent with business necessity."

Blanket COVID-19 Testing Must Be Based on a Business Necessity

The EEOC notes that because a COVID-19 viral test (i.e., a nasal or oral test that tells whether someone is infected with COVID-19) is a "medical examination" as that term is used in the Americans with Disabilities Act, employers that implement a mandatory testing policy requiring that employees test negative for COVID-19 before entering the workplace must demonstrate that the testing policy is "job-related and consistent with business necessity." (Previously, the EEOC was of the view that this standard was always