Employer arguments against telework as a disability accommodation could be undercut now that coronavirus-related “social distancing” is forcing companies to allow many employees to work from home, legal observers say.
Before the spread of Covid-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus, courts for the most part sided with employers that say telework isn’t a “reasonable accommodation” because it prevents employees from performing essential job duties that include in-person attendance. But if mass telework from the pandemic shows that face-to-face interaction isn’t actually necessary to perform those duties, workers may be able to counter that business argument, lawyers say.
