LAW OFFICE OF ARKADY ITKIN
  • Home
  • Employment Law
    • Wrongful Termination >
      • At-Will Employment
      • Termination After Unfair Warnings and Write-Ups
      • Union Grievance, Workers Comp and Wrongful Termination
      • Labor Code 970 Claims
      • Promissory Estoppel and Employment Contracts
      • Implied Contract Claims
    • Discrimination >
      • Proving Discrimination
      • Age Discrimination
      • Disability Discrimination >
        • Protected Disabilities
        • Medical Leave / Disability Accommodations
        • Job Reassignment As A Disability Accommodation
        • SSI Disability Benefits and Your Court Case
        • Sample Request for Reasonable Accommodation
      • Pregnancy Discrimination
      • Race Discrimination
      • Sample Discrimination Complaint
      • DFEH and EEOC Investigations
    • Retaliation >
      • How to Prove Retaliation
      • Dealing with Retaliation While Still Employed
      • Retaliation for Complaining
      • Whistleblower Retaliation
    • Harassment
    • Defamation at Workplace
    • Prof. License Defense
    • Leaves of Absence >
      • Medical Leave as Reasonable Accommodation
      • FMLA Entitlement and Reinstatement to Work
      • CFRA Leave
      • Employers' FMLA Notice Obligations
      • Paternity Leave (FMLA)
      • Sample FMLA Leave Request
    • Wages / Overtime Claims >
      • Wage Claims
      • Employee or Contractor
      • Exempt / Non-Exempt >
        • Admistrative Exemption
        • IT Support Specialists Compensation
        • Computer Professional Exemption from Overtime
        • Recruiters / Account Executives Exemption
        • Complaining About Being Misclassified
      • Vacation Pay / PTO
      • On-Call Time Compensation
      • Deductions fr. Commissions
    • Unempl. Benefits Appeals >
      • Tips for EDD Phone Interview
      • Unemployment Benefits Appeal Hearing Representation
      • CUIAB Hearing Tips
    • Employment Law Blog
    • For Employers
  • Personal Injury
    • Five Tips For Injury Cases
    • Slip-and-Fall Injuries
    • Assault and Battery
    • Recorded Statements
    • Repairing Your Vehicle
    • Unpaid Medical Bills
    • Injury Law Blog
    • Medical Malpractice
    • Police Excessive Force
  • Practice Areas
  • About
  • Results
  • Submit Case
  • Contact
  • Resources
    • Consultations
    • Workplace Rights Checklist
    • Deposition Tips
    • Mediation Tips
    • Effective Mediator
    • Suing Current Employer
    • Severance Agreements
    • Workplace Investigation
    • Arbitration
    • Statutes of Limitations
    • Healthy Litigation Mindset
    • Trial Tips
    • Working Remotely
    • How To Find The Right Lawyer For Your Case

EEOC Files First ADA Accommodation Lawsuit Related to Covid-19 and Working From Home

9/18/2021

 
Picture
In what is sure to be a closely watched case, the EEOC recently filed its first ADA pandemic-related lawsuit relating to COVID-19 and an employee’s request to work from home. The EEOC claims that ISS Facility Services, Inc., a workplace experience and facility management company, unlawfully denied an employee’s reasonable request for an accommodation for her disability and then fired her because of her disability and in retaliation for requesting an accommodation. 

According to the lawsuit, the employee, who has chronic obstructive lung disease and other physical impairments, worked as a Health, Safety & Environmental Quality Manager at a company facility. Beginning in March 2020 and through June 1, 2020, the Company required all of its employees to work remotely four days per week due to the COVID-19. Beginning June 1, 2020, the Company required all employees to return to working five days per week. The employee then requested an accommodation to work from home two days per week and to take frequent breaks while working onsite due to her pulmonary condition, which made her high-risk for contracting COVID-19. Although the Company allowed others in the same position to work from home, it denied the employee’s request and, shortly thereafter, fired her.  

Generally, an employer is not required to provide an employee with the specific accommodation requested, but may offer alternative accommodations, so long as the accommodation provided is effective, which should be discussed during the ADA interactive process to determine whether there are alternatives to, for example, working from home, e.g., proper social distancing. Unless a job indisputably cannot be performed at home, employers should engage in the the interactive process to determine whether working from home is a reasonable accommodation that does not pose undue hardship on the operations, and whether any alternative accommodations would be effective.  

The COVID-19 pandemic has already demonstrated in many instances that certain positions not previously seen as remote positions can be effectively performed at home, creating a renewed focus on and need to reassess the reasonableness of such requests for an accommodation. 


Comments are closed.

    RSS Feed

    San Francisco Wrongful Termination Lawyer

    Categories

    All
    Ada
    Administrative Exemption
    Age Discrimination
    At Will Employment
    Awol
    Cfra
    Constructive Discharge
    Contracts
    Defamation
    Disability Discrimination
    Disability Rights At Workplace
    Discrimination
    Employee Relations
    Feha
    Fmla
    For Employers
    Harassment
    Hostile Work Environment
    Independent Contractors
    Interactive Process
    Labor Commissioner Hearings (DLSE)
    Meal And Rest Breaks
    Mediation
    Medical Leave
    Non Compete Agreements
    Overtime Compensation
    Pregnancy Leave
    Racial Harassment
    Reasonable Accommodations
    Retaliation
    Sex/Gender Discrimination
    Sexual Harassment
    Sick Leave / PTO
    State And Public Employees
    Temp Agencies
    Tips For Employers
    Unemployment Benefits
    Vacation Time
    Vaccine Mandates
    Wage Claims
    Whistleblower Retaliation
    Workplace Disability Laws
    Wrongful Termination

    View my profile on LinkedIn

Personal Injury Law

San Francisco Personal Injury Lawyer Blog
Contact San Francisco Personal Injury Lawyer
Useful Legal Links
​

Employment Law

What Is Wrongful Termination?
Sample Request for Reasonable Accommodation
Sample Complaint about Workplace Discrimination 
FAQ About California Employment Law 

Law Office of Arkady Itkin

Contact Us
About
Our Practice Areas
Current Cases & Results 


Law Office of Arkady Itkin - San Francisco & Sacramento Injury and Employment Lawyer
We represent employees and employers in employment and wrongful termination cases, as well as victims of serious injuries in San Francisco, Oakland, Sacramento, San Jose, Palo Alto, San Mateo and throughout Northern California. We all represent businesses and start-ups in a wide range of business and employment issues and disputes. 


57 Post Street, Suite 812, San Francisco, CA 94104; Tel. (415) 295-4730; Fax. (415) 508-3474; [email protected]
Photos from shixart1985 (CC BY 2.0), Ivan Radic (CC BY 2.0), Ernst Moeksis, shixart1985, Rawpixel Ltd, Ivan Radic
  • Home
  • Employment Law
    • Wrongful Termination >
      • At-Will Employment
      • Termination After Unfair Warnings and Write-Ups
      • Union Grievance, Workers Comp and Wrongful Termination
      • Labor Code 970 Claims
      • Promissory Estoppel and Employment Contracts
      • Implied Contract Claims
    • Discrimination >
      • Proving Discrimination
      • Age Discrimination
      • Disability Discrimination >
        • Protected Disabilities
        • Medical Leave / Disability Accommodations
        • Job Reassignment As A Disability Accommodation
        • SSI Disability Benefits and Your Court Case
        • Sample Request for Reasonable Accommodation
      • Pregnancy Discrimination
      • Race Discrimination
      • Sample Discrimination Complaint
      • DFEH and EEOC Investigations
    • Retaliation >
      • How to Prove Retaliation
      • Dealing with Retaliation While Still Employed
      • Retaliation for Complaining
      • Whistleblower Retaliation
    • Harassment
    • Defamation at Workplace
    • Prof. License Defense
    • Leaves of Absence >
      • Medical Leave as Reasonable Accommodation
      • FMLA Entitlement and Reinstatement to Work
      • CFRA Leave
      • Employers' FMLA Notice Obligations
      • Paternity Leave (FMLA)
      • Sample FMLA Leave Request
    • Wages / Overtime Claims >
      • Wage Claims
      • Employee or Contractor
      • Exempt / Non-Exempt >
        • Admistrative Exemption
        • IT Support Specialists Compensation
        • Computer Professional Exemption from Overtime
        • Recruiters / Account Executives Exemption
        • Complaining About Being Misclassified
      • Vacation Pay / PTO
      • On-Call Time Compensation
      • Deductions fr. Commissions
    • Unempl. Benefits Appeals >
      • Tips for EDD Phone Interview
      • Unemployment Benefits Appeal Hearing Representation
      • CUIAB Hearing Tips
    • Employment Law Blog
    • For Employers
  • Personal Injury
    • Five Tips For Injury Cases
    • Slip-and-Fall Injuries
    • Assault and Battery
    • Recorded Statements
    • Repairing Your Vehicle
    • Unpaid Medical Bills
    • Injury Law Blog
    • Medical Malpractice
    • Police Excessive Force
  • Practice Areas
  • About
  • Results
  • Submit Case
  • Contact
  • Resources
    • Consultations
    • Workplace Rights Checklist
    • Deposition Tips
    • Mediation Tips
    • Effective Mediator
    • Suing Current Employer
    • Severance Agreements
    • Workplace Investigation
    • Arbitration
    • Statutes of Limitations
    • Healthy Litigation Mindset
    • Trial Tips
    • Working Remotely
    • How To Find The Right Lawyer For Your Case