With the increase in vaccine distribution and the relaxation of government restrictions due to the Coronavirus, employers are beginning to request their employees back to work in person.
Now that many businesses have been able to operate with a telecommuting workforce over the past year, many employees wonder if their employers are willing to grant them the ability to work remotely as a reasonable accommodation in the future.
For background information, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) require employers to provide reasonable accommodation to employees with a physical or mental disability to carry out their “essential work duties” as long as it does not cause many difficulties for the company or its employer. Before COVID, many employers denied an employee’s request to work from home because being at the workplace in person was an essential job function. Therefore, working from home would cause undue hardship.
If you as an employee request to work from home because you have a disability, you must participate in a process to determine:
- If your disability is effectively covered under protection,
- what your limitations are,
- what other accommodations, if any, can be provided.
If there is another accommodation available that allows the employee to perform work at the workplace, the request for telecommuting may be denied.
The EEOC also reported that prior telecommuting experience could be a relevant factor when considering a telecommuting request from an employee with a disability. As with any request for a reasonable accommodation, determining whether a particular accommodation may be granted must be considered on a case-by-case basis in light of the specific circumstances.
If there is no disability-related limitation that requires teleworking, the employer does not have to provide it as an accommodation. For example, if an employee hesitates to enter the workplace for fear of contracting COVID-19, the employer does not need to consider granting the request.
