COVID-19 can be a disability, says EEOC

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) released updated guidance on Tuesday saying that an individual can be considered to have a disability after contracting COVID-19 under certain circumstances.

According to the EEOC’s new guidance, a person who has or was previously diagnosed with COVID-19 can be considered disabled if the condition or any the symptoms they experience cause “physical or mental” impairment that “substantially limits one or more major life activities.”

People who tested positive for COVID-19 but were asymptomatic or experienced mild symptoms that resolved without issue will not be considered disabled under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), per the guidance.

“An individualized assessment is necessary to determine whether the effects of a person’s COVID-19 substantially limit a major life activity. This will always be a case-by-case determination that applies existing legal standards to the facts of a particular individual’s circumstances,” the agency stated.

The EEOC added that “the definition of disability is construed broadly in favor of expansive coverage, to the maximum extent permitted by the law. Nonetheless, not every impairment will constitute a disability under the ADA.”

The guidance further states that an employee may be considered a person with a disability if their infection with COVID-19 has a negative impact on their employment, as in the case of a person who is fired for displaying symptoms of the virus.

Apart from COVID-19 itself, conditions caused or exacerbated by the disease, such as heart inflammation, may also be considered to be a disability if they limit major life activity, according to the guidance.

Though the majority of people who contract COVID-19 are believed to recover with no long-lasting effects, some people may experience what has come to be known as “long COVID,” which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention describes as presenting in a range of symptoms that persist months after recovering from initial infection.

These symptoms may include ongoing fatigue, brain fog, loss of taste or smell, depression and bodily pain.

Earlier this year, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) also released guidance on how to address long COVID as a disability under the ADA. The HHS pointed to the long-lasting physiological effects that COVID-19 can have, such as organ damage and impacts on bodily systems.

“Long COVID can be a disability under the ADA, Section 504, and Section 1557 if it substantially limits one or more major life activities,” HHS said.