The Americans with Disability Act (“ADA”) prohibits an employer subject to the Act from discriminating against an employee or a job applicant because the person has a disability, has a history of a disability or is believed to have a physical or mental impairment that is not transitory. The ADA also requires an employer to provide reasonable accommodation to an employee or job applicant with a disability unless doing so would cause the employer undue hardship.
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which is the federal agency responsible for enforcing the ADA, updated its Technical Assistance Manual to address when employees who have Covid-19 are considered disabled and entitled to protection under the ADA.
The Technical Assistance Manual explains that an employee who contracts a mild case of Covid-19 will likely not be considered to meet the ADA definition of disability. If Covid-19 impacts an employee’s major bodily functions, and/or if an employee with Covid-19 is substantially limited in a major life activity (such as walking, talking, caring for oneself, eating, etc.), the disease may be considered a disability protected by the ADA.
Typically, an impairment must last for more than a few weeks to be considered a protected disability. The determination must be made on an individual facts-based analysis. Employees who request accommodation based on a long-term Covid symptom should be engaged in the ADA interactive process.
