EEOC Reissues Guidance on Providing Accommodations to Employees Returning to Work

The EEOC reissued the guidance it previously pulled on providing accommodations to employees returning to work. The EEOC explained that their prior guidance had been “misinterpreted.” The guidance provided today is the EEOC’s latest guidance to assist employers responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, it details how the ADA is applicable when an employer knows a returning employee has an underlying medical condition that places the employee in the high risk category as designated by the CDC of becoming severely sick if the employee contracts COVID-19, but the employee hasn’t asked for any accommodation. Employers are required to conduct a direct threat analysis, including an individualized assessment based on relevant factors, and a determination of whether the threat can be reduced or eliminated through a reasonable accommodation.

The most recent EEOC guidance can be found here.