January 12, 2023

New Study of Employees With Long COVID Demonstrates Need for More Workplace Accommodations

Since the beginning of the pandemic “long COVID” remains a new and poorly understood condition both for medical experts and people suffering from the condition. For workers, this has had a significant impact on their ability to remain productive at work. One in five people reporting a positive COVID diagnosis report experiencing symptoms of long COVID, according to the CDC. And, in a new study focused on long-COVID sufferers, 99% of participants reported that the condition had adversely affected their work. Participants reported having to take time off work, depression, anxiety, and even switching jobs.

The study also revealed that these problems are not merely personal, as employers have not done enough to create clear ways to communicate the availability for accommodations, which are required under the ADA, broadened in summer of 2021 to recognize “long COVID” as a disability. Respondents reported lack of workplace flexibility, poor communication, and a more general fear of broaching the subject with employers., all of which were more acutely felt among  respondents of color.

However, there is much that employers can do to help employees who are dealing with long COVID. The first is simply to talk more openly about the condition. Many people are not even aware they are suffering from long COVID because of the lack of diagnostic tools to point to the condition coupled with its similarities with other common mental health conditions. However, many of those conditions already allow for accommodations, so employers should not be fearful of widening the discussion to include long COVID. Additionally, many of those accommodations cost little, are easy to implement and have been used for other conditions for years, making it an easy target for employers.

31st Anniversary of ADA Has Special Significance This Year

July 29, 2021
Disability Discrimination
Thirty-one years ago this week, then-president George H.W. Bush passed the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) into law. It was a milestone in Federal law with wide ranging implications throughout US society, and, because of its extension of civil rights workplace protections to those with disabilities, special impact on our own practice in employment law.

New York Times Publishes Explainer on Child Tax Credit

July 27, 2021
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The revamped Child Tax Credit went into effect this month, with much-needed money being distributed to parents across the country. While this will be a boon for many parents, it also has the potential to create headaches for parents come tax season. Thankfully, the New York Times published helpful suggestions on who should take the credit and who should opt out.

Disability Discrimination Is Hurting the Medical Profession

July 26, 2021
Disability Discrimination
A new investigation on the Huffington Post has spotlighted a troubling trend in medicine. Many doctors with disabilities experience persistent discrimination at the hands of other physicians and medical professionals. In a profession that regularly requires workers, especially early career workers, to put in grueling shifts of 80+ hours a week, doctors with disabilities are perceived as unable to live up to the grind.

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