Law360 talked with attorneys suffering from long COVID-19 and reached out to partner Sally Culley for her guidance on what employers should know. Culley shared that many employers and employees don’t realize that, as of July 2021, employees who suffer with long COVID symptoms may be protected under the Americans with Disabilities Act in an article published on March 11.

Culley explained that employers should be compassionate and sympathetic to employees dealing with long COVID.  Within the professional context, navigating long COVID can be “confusing, because there’s no clear-cut answer that’s going to be the same for everybody.” She further added that, what constitutes as a reasonable accommodation for one employer may not be for another.

“Both the employer and the employee should be working toward the same goal, which is to allow the employee to be able to do the job they were hired to do,” noted Culley. She also shared that employers have the responsibility to engage in an interactive process with the employee to determine if there is a reasonable accommodation that would allow them to do their job.

Read the full article (subscription may be required).