COVID and the ADA


Wednesday, September 22, 2021
2:00 PM - 3:30 PM Eastern Time Zone

Description

For the last 18 months, COVID-19 has significantly impacted all of our lives, including people with disabilities. The COVID-pandemic has also caused the courts to apply traditional ADA principles to an entirely new context. This session will review court cases, settlements and federal agency guidance involving the interplay between COVID and the ADA. Topics will include COVID as an ADA-disability; employment rights; mask/vaccine mandates; voting rights; effective communication; corrections; access to healthcare; access to private businesses; and access to education. This is a constantly evolving area of the law so be sure to attend this session to make sure you have the latest information about COVID and the ADA.

Continuing Education Recognition Available

Certificate Credit hours
ACTCP 1.5
Certificate of Attendance 1.5

Speakers:

Barry Taylor, VP for Civil Rights and Systemic Litigation, Equip for Equality

Rachel Weisberg, Client Assistance Program Manager and Managing Attorney, Equip for Equality

Questions for presenters:

1 How do employees make sure that their rights and privacy are protected? What about those with medical conditions such as GBS (Gillean Barra Syndrome) that cannot take any form of vaccination, much less the COVID 19 shot? How do they protect their employment when places such as American Airlines is punishing those that do not get the shot and/or rewarding those that do get it. Seems like discrimination to me? How can federal employees that have had COVID19, have the antibodies and have full immunity per their medical professionals yet their employment wants them not only to get the shot, but if they do not, then they have to wear a "visible" "branding" that tells everyone at work that they have not been vaccinated and/or do not have a fever?
2 Can you address the discussions about triage? It keeps popping up. Now it is in the context of vaccinated versus non-vaccinated people. I wonder where people with disabilities fit in this discussion. The timing is important as things keep changing with the virus.
3 If an employee is qualified by a medical professional as a long-COVID and they are requesting an accommodation for their employer to conduct indoor air quality testing due to experiencing symptoms such as cold-like symptoms while at work, is that considered a reasonable accommodation?

Session Questions

This session is accepting questions from registered users. After you have registered to participate in this session you can submit your questions on your Account Manager page. Please note: the number of questions will be limited and submissions will be closed well before the session starts to provide time to prepare answers.