How the Pandemic Impacts Disability Accommodations When Employees Have to Work From Home

Fenwick litigation and employment practices partner Sheeva Ghassemi-Vanni spoke with the San Francisco Chronicle about how the pandemic has impacted disability accommodations and what employers need to know regarding accessibility considerations for employees working from home.

Ghassemi-Vanni explained that employers must consider and grant reasonable requests for disability accommodations from employees working remotely, unless they create an undue hardship on the business. She added that an important consideration, particularly in the work-from-home environment, is the cost of an accommodation compared to the resources of a company.

“A special standing desk pre-pandemic could be totally reasonable," Ghassemi-Vanni said. "During the pandemic if an employer was really hard hit financially, though, that might not be a reasonable accommodation.”

For new COVID-19 employment law updates, please read Fenwick’s article on EEOC and Cal/OSHA developments.

The full article is available on the San Francisco Chronicle (subscription required).