On Thursday, April 9, the EEOC updated its guidance on What You Should Know About COVID-19 and the ADA , the Rehabilitation Act, and Other EEO Laws. (We previously told you about this guidance in our March 18 newsletter.) Updated information includes:

• Employers may screen employees entering the workplace for any symptoms identified by public health authorities (now or in the future) as associated with COVID-19. As the CDC and state and local public health authorities learn more about COVID-19, they may expand the list of associated symptoms (and, in fact, have already done so since this pandemic started). In addition to fever and cough, employers may also ask employees about gastrointestinal problems and a loss of smell or taste—additional symptoms now associated with COVID-19 (and the list is likely to keep growing).
• A reminder that the ADA requires employers to keep confidential employee medical information and store it separately from the employee’s personnel file. An employer can store COVID-19 medical information (such as the results of taking an employee’s temperature, disclosure of symptoms, or the employee’s self-identification of having the virus) with the employee’s existing confidential medical files.

• Employers can (and should) disclose the name of an employee to public health authorities when they learn the employee has COVID-19.
   
• A temporary staffing agency or contractor that places an employee in a business’s workplace may notify the business where the employee is placed if it learns the employee has COVID-19, so that the business can determine if the employee had contact with anyone in the workplace.
   
• Just as employers cannot force existing employees who are over 65 years old or pregnant to stay home simply because they may be at higher risk from COVID-19, employers also may not withdraw a job offer or postpone the start date for those applicants. However, employers may choose to allow telework or discuss with the individual whether he/she would like to postpone the start date and they can do so based on mutual agreement.
   
• Employees with disabilities that put them at higher risk for COVID-19 (for example, diabetes or chronic lung disease), whose jobs must be performed at the workplace, may be entitled to reasonable accommodations that offer them additional protection. Examples of reasonable accommodations may include changes to the work environment such as using plexiglass or other barriers to ensure minimum distance between customers and coworkers, temporary job restructuring of marginal job duties, temporary transfers to a different position, or modifying a work schedule or shift assignment.
   
• Although many people feel significant stress due to the COVID-19 pandemic, employees with certain preexisting mental health conditions (such as anxiety disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, or post-traumatic stress disorder) may have more difficulty handling the disruption to daily life that has accompanied COVID-19. Employees with preexisting mental health conditions that are exacerbated by the pandemic may be entitled to reasonable accommodations (absent undue hardship to the employer).
   
• An employee who was already receiving a reasonable accommodation prior to the COVID-19 pandemic may request an additional or altered accommodation (absent undue hardship) during this time. For example, an employee who is teleworking may need a different type of accommodation than what he/she uses in the workplace.

The EEOC’s update is a good reminder that things are constantly changing with COVID-19. Employers should regularly consult the most current information from the CDC, state and local public health authorities, or legal counsel. As always, we will endeavor to bring you updates as they come.

By Rebecca D. Bullard, rbullard@dsda.com