Posted on November 24, 2020 in COVID Rules

On November 20, 2020, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced a December 10th meeting to discuss the emergency use of a COVID-19 vaccine from Pfizer, Inc. and BioNTech. Vaccines from Moderna and AstraZeneca may also soon be available. The vaccines raise new questions about how employers should proceed and seek to protect its workforce.

COVID-19 and the Americans with Disabilities Act

In ordinary times, conscientious employers are loathe to make disability-related inquiries or require medical exams of their employees unless truly job related and consistent with business necessity. Normally before seeking this information, an employer must have objective evidence that a medical condition will impair the employee's ability to perform the essential functions of the job, or that the employee will pose a "direct threat." However, in March 2020, the Equality Employment Opportunity Commission took the position that the COVID-19 pandemic meets the standard of "direct threat" to the health and safety of the workforce. As such, employers may now perform body temperature checks and request COVID-19 screens to protect its workforce.

Continue Reading ››