The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has posted online an updated technical assistance document, “What You Should Know About COVID-19 and the ADA, the Rehabilitation Act, and Other EEO Laws (‘WYSK’).”
The comprehensive guide, in question and answer format, addresses common workplace questions about dealing with the coronavirus pandemic.
The new publication incorporates information from other agency resources and addresses common questions about COVID-19 and federal equal employment opportunity laws for employers, advocates, and workers.
The updated “WYSK” adds 18 questions and answers that have been adapted from two other EEOC technical assistance resources: “Pandemic Preparedness in the Workplace and the Americans with Disabilities Act” and a March 27, 2020, publicly available EEOC webinar. These newly incorporated Q&As are identified on the “WYSK” with a parenthetical that lists the date of publication and identifies the sources from which it was adapted.
In addition, the EEOC updated two existing “WYSK” Q&As in order to provide helpful clarifications that reinforce prior EEOC statements about COVID-19 and the EEO laws. First, in the updated “A.6.,” the EEOC more fully explains its existing position about employers requiring COVID-19 tests before permitting employees to enter the workplace. Second, in the updated “D.8.,” the EEOC clarifies its existing position on employers’ authority to invite employees not currently in the workplace to request disability accommodation in advance of their expected return if they choose to do so.
The EEOC is the federal government agency that enforces federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination.
These laws include the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Rehabilitation Act (which include the requirement for reasonable accommodation and non-discrimination based on disability, and rules about employer medical examinations and inquiries), Title VII of the Civil Rights Act (which prohibits discrimination based on race, color, national origin, religion, and sex, including pregnancy), the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (which prohibits discrimination based on age, 40 or older), and the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act.
The new guide may be accessed online at:
More information is available at www.eeoc.gov.
