What You Should Know About COVID-19 and the ADA, the Rehabilitation Act, and Other EEO Laws- U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)

The EEOC provides ongoing COVID-19 related technical assistance in the document, "What You Should Know About COVID-19 and the ADA, the Rehabilitation Act, and Other EEO Laws". One section provides answers to questions regarding reasonable accommodation and COVID-19 including:

• If a job may only be performed at the workplace, are there reasonable accommodations for individuals with disabilities, absent undue hardship, that could offer protection to an employee who, due to a preexisting disability, is at higher risk from COVID-19?
• If an employee has a preexisting mental illness or disorder that has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, may he now be entitled to a reasonable accommodation (absent undue hardship)?
• During the pandemic, may an employer still engage in the interactive process and request information from an employee about why an accommodation is needed?
• Are the circumstances of the pandemic relevant to whether a requested accommodation can be denied because it poses an undue hardship?
• Is an employee entitled to an accommodation under the ADA in order to avoid exposing a family member who is at higher risk of severe illness from COVID-19 due to an underlying medical condition?