Accommodation

On September 7, 2021, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) filed a lawsuit claiming an employer discriminated against disabled employees by failing to provide workplace accommodations related to COVID-19. Specifically, the EEOC has accused ISS Facility Services Inc. a Denmark-based facilities management company, of unlawfully denying its employee’s reasonable request for an accommodation for her disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”), and then firing her for making the request.… Continue Reading

Today, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) substantially augmented its technical assistance questions and answers related to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the application of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and other federal equal employment opportunity laws. It also released a new document targeted at employees and job applicants that explains how federal anti-discrimination laws apply during the COVID-19 pandemic.… Continue Reading

On April 7, 2021, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Winn-Dixie Stores’ websites are not “public accommodations” and therefore are not subject to the accessibility requirements of Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”).  The decision reversed a 2017 federal district court opinion – in what may be the only website accessibility case to ever go to trial – that required the grocery store chain to make its website accessible to individuals with visual disabilities. … Continue Reading

The New Jersey Department of Health and the Department of Law and Public Safety (which oversees the New Jersey Division on Civil Rights) have issued guidance in the form of FAQs regarding the right of employers to mandate the COVID-19 vaccine under New Jersey law. The guidance generally tracks that published by the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in December.… Continue Reading

Thursday, March 18, 2021 | 9:00 AM – 10:00 AM AZT

As the law and practical situations faced by employers progress with the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, including the just-approved Johnson & Johnson single shot vaccine, and companies continue to examine what a partially vaccinated workforce and population will mean for them, a clear and informed perspective on what the future may look like becomes more of a business need with every passing day.… Continue Reading

Employers may be interested in requiring or incentivizing their workforces to get vaccinated against COVID-19 in order to help curb the potential spread of the virus in the workplace.  Before undertaking such a program, employers should stop and think about the legal considerations that will influence how such programs are structured.… Continue Reading