ADA Accommodation Compliance Requirements Caused by COVID-19
Duration: 90 minutes
Speaker: Dr. Jim Castagnera, Esq.
Webinar Description
Post-pandemic, employers are waking up to a new reality. Their workforces now seem to divide into two groups. The first are the older workers and employees with pre-existing medical conditions, and the second are younger, healthier employees. Members of the first group, evidence suggests, are more likely to experience adverse outcomes if they contract COVID-19. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 34% of the population between the ages of 18 and 65 have at least one pre-existing medical condition, and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that in 2019 nearly 7% of the labor force was made up of people aged 65 or older, while another 34% were between 55 and 64. With these higher-risk employees representing a large part of the workforce, they pose a significant management challenge for employers during the post-pandemic period.
As businesses take their first steps towards returning to normal operations, a significant number of higher-risk employees predictably don’t want to go back to their former workplaces, and instead are requesting an ADA accommodation in order to continue working from home.
As for those employees who are returning to the workplace, the threat of recurring viral pandemics means that new workspace layouts, new working hours, and new hygiene-related disciplinary rules may all be part of the “new normal.”
In short, the post-pandemic “new normal” implicates an alphabet soup of federal and state statutes that you and your supervisors need to digest. Please join Dr. Jim Castagnera, attorney at law, as he explains the employer’s responsibility to accommodate under the ADA, and related requirements under the FMLA, the GINA, the ADEA, most recently the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, plus related state and local requirements, and helps you prepare for the flood of accommodation requests, as well as resistance to necessary new work rules.
Agenda
During this important webinar, Dr. Castagnera will discuss:
- The ADA requirement to accommodate employees with disabilities:
- Are chronic illness and the age of an employee considered disabilities?
- Does the possibility of contracting COVID-19 and suffering a bad outcome constitute a disability?
- How to deal with an employee's request for an accommodation
- Utilizing the ADA interactive process in determining if an accommodation is warranted
- Work from home and other possible accommodations
- Related Family and Medical Leave Act requirements
- Rights of employees with chronic illnesses and potential illnesses under the FMLA
- Is a chronic illness considered a serious health condition under the FMLA?
- Federal paid sick leave and expanded family and medical leave under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act
- Are mental health issues stemming from COVID-19 concerns considered long term disabilities warranting an accommodation?
- GINA--does a genetic predisposition to an illness warrant accommodation in the post pandemic environment? And what are the predisposed applicant’s or employee’s privacy rights?
- Avoiding claims of age discrimination when deciding whether or not to grant an employee's request for an accommodation to work from home
- What if you say "no" to a request for an accommodation? What does the employer have to show? What does the employee have to show?
- Does guidance from the CDC, OSHA, and/or the EEOC support a “no accommodation” decision?
- What type of positions work best from a remote location?
- Focusing on FLSA work from home: time keeping requirements
- What options does the employee have if you decline their request for what s/he believes is a reasonable accommodation?
- What new rules and practices should be in place, as the enterprise reopens and/or comes up to speed? And how will they impact your at-risk workers?
- How do you deal with job applicants who present positive for pre-existing conditions?
CONTINUING EDUCATION
Continuing HRCI Credit Information
This program has been pre-approved for 1.5 hours of General recertification credit hours through the HR Certification Institute. Use of the seal is not an endorsement by the HR Certification Institute of the quality of the program. It means that this program has met the HR Certification Institute's criteria to be pre-approved for recertification credit.
Continuing SHRM Credit
Park Avenue Presentations is recognized by SHRM to offer Professional Development Credits (PDCs) for the SHRM-CPSM or SHRM-SCPSM. This program is valid for 1.5 PDCs for the SHRM-CPSM or SHRM-SCPSM. For more information about certification or recertification, please visit www.shrmcertification.org.
Logistics
- 90-minute webinar (Travel-Free) delivered over the Internet.
- Unlimited listeners per connection - bring the entire department.
- Q&A session with the expert.
This event will be presented live with a PowerPoint presentation to be viewed on your computer. You may listen to the audio of the webinar by telephone or through your computer. The PowerPoint slides will be provided shortly before the event. Once you register, you will receive an email which is your receipt and which includes your instructions for dialing in and logging on. You will also receive an email reminder 24 hours before the webinar.
What is a webinar?
A webinar is a live Internet based seminar. Webinars are a way for participants in many different locations to see and hear a presentation and view PowerPoint slides. You can also have your colleagues attend the webinar using one connection.
What kind of equipment do I need?
You will need a computer with an Internet connection (high speed service such as DSL or cable works best) and a telephone. You may listen to the webinar through your computer speakers, in which case you will not need to use a telephone connection. Internet access is not required for phone-only participants, but you will not be able to see the speaker’s slides.
How can I share the webinar with my colleagues who may not be able to attend the event?
CDs of each program will be available for sale and can be shared with your business associates.
Can I get a copy of the PowerPoint slides used in the webinar?
The PowerPoint slides will be available on the materials page link in the confirmation email that will be sent to you no later than the morning of the day a webinar is presented.
How do I ask a question during the webinar? Will my question be answered during the presentation?
A question and answer session will be scheduled at the end of each webinar. You can then ask a question by typing it into the question box that will be provided to you duringthe webinar. You may also ask a question through the telephone connection. As many questions as possible will be answered during the Question and Answer period.