Tamara Bock and Nancy Gunzenhauser Popper, Members of the Firm in the Employment, Labor & Workforce Management practice, in the firm’s New York office, co-authored an article in Westlaw Today, titled “Are We There Yet? Navigating Leave and Accommodation Issues Among a Changed Workforce.”
Following is an excerpt (see below to download the full version in PDF format):
As we hurtle past the one-year mark of COVID-19-forced telework, employees are grappling with unprecedented levels of ailments — and employers are grappling with a record number of employee class actions.
The long-term health impacts of COVID-19 coupled with the unique difficulties of pandemic-induced remote work — inactivity, isolation, stress and burnout, to name a few — should have employers on high alert about complying with federal, state and local leave and accommodation laws, avoiding claims of leave-related retaliation, and setting up the workplace to address the return of a changed in-person workforce.
Here are five issues for employers to keep in mind as they navigate leave and accommodation issues in what is hopefully the remainder of the pandemic months. …
