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.

Highlights on New York State’s Legalization of Recreational Marijuana

July 19, 2021
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Now that New York State has legalized the recreational use of marijuana, there are some changes to the law as it relates to employment, for example, prohibiting discrimination on the basis of legal marijuana use outside of the workplace.

Female Doctors Being Penalized for Wearing Hoop Earrings 

July 13, 2021
Race Discrimination
Gender Discrimination
According to a recent story on The Lily, women in medicine, particularly Latinx and Black women, are being unfairly judged as unprofessional because of their choice to wear hoop earrings during work or school hours.

Updates on the Masquerade, What Employers Should Know

June 1, 2021
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Updated guidance from the CDC and Gov. Cuomo on masking employees in offices.

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