By Karla Grossenbacher, Jennifer A.Kraft, and Benjamin J.Conley

Seyfarth Synopsis: As COVID-19 vaccines become more readily available in coming months, employers are exploring ways to maximize vaccination rates within their workforce.  Some employers are  considering making vaccination mandatory.  Be sure to read our alert for more relating to legal considerations involved with a mandatory vaccination program.  Other
Continue Reading EEOC’s New ADA Regulations Could Complicate Employer Plans’ Efforts to Offer Incentives for Getting the COVID Vaccine as Part of a Wellness Program

By John P. Phillips and Linda Schoonmaker

Seyfarth Synopsis:  Often an employer’s valid safety requirements for a position can be at odds with a disabled employee’s request for a reasonable accommodation. A recent decision from the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals reaffirms employers’ right to require compliance with valid safety requirements. And it serves as a helpful reminder that
Continue Reading Fourth Circuit Speaks: To Be “Qualified” Under the ADA, Disabled Employee Must Comply with Valid Safety Requirements

By Kevin A. Fritz

Seyfarth Synopsis: Emotional support animals will no longer be categorized as “service animals” under the Air Carrier Access Act under new Department of Transportation regulations. 

Questionable verifications for certain assistance animals have frustrated the airline industry for years. From peacocks to pigs, all sorts of furry and feathered companions have accompanied individuals on domestic
Continue Reading No More Friendly Skies for Emotional Support Animals

By Karla Grossenbacher and Gerald L. Maatman, Jr.

Seyfarth Synopsis: On December 16, 2020, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission issued guidance for employers on the interplay of workplace bias laws and COVID-19 vaccinations. As all employers are facing these issues in the coming weeks with the roll-out of vaccinations, the EEOC’s guidance should be required reading for all businesses.
Continue Reading Required Read For All Employers: The EEOC Issues Guidance On The Interplay Of Workplace Bias Laws And COVID-19 Vaccinations

By Minh N. Vu and Kristina M. Launey

Seyfarth Synopsis: A Biden Administration DOJ will likely bring higher engagement and more aggressive enforcement on ADA Title III issues.

While the current administration may still be unwilling to concede the election, it appears there will indeed be a new administration in charge at the Department of Justice (DOJ) come January
Continue Reading How Will DOJ Enforce Title III of the ADA in a Biden Administration?

By Honore N. Hishamunda and Erin Dougherty Foley

Seyfarth Synopsis: Employees can sometimes sour on jobs they transfer to and, this in turn, can create practical and legal risk for employers, particularly where an employee changed jobs in connection with a disability accommodation. A recent decision from the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, however, makes
Continue Reading Your Accommodation Can’t Be That Bad, You Asked For It….

By Minh Vu and Julia Sarnoff

Seyfarth Synopsis: Congressmen Budd and Correa try to address website and mobile app accessibility in a new bill called the “Online Accessibility Act.”  

On October 2, 2020, Representatives Lou Correa (D-CA) and Ted Budd (R-NC) introduced a bill called the “Online Accessibility Act” (H.R. 8478) (the “OAA”) which would amend the ADA to
Continue Reading House Bill Introduced to Require Accessible Consumer Facing Websites and Mobile Apps

By Loren Gesinsky and Samuel I. Rubinstein

Seyfarth Synopsis: With telework seeming like the new normal for many, employers and employees have been wondering whether pandemic telework will be seen as creating a presumptive right to post-pandemic telework as a reasonable accommodation for employees with disabilities. On September 8, 2020, the EEOC answered “no” to this burning question in its
Continue Reading Pandemic Telework Does Not Create Presumptive Right to Telework Post-Pandemic According to EEOC

By: Gerald L. Maatman, Jr., Christopher DeGroff, Matthew J. Gagnon, and Alex S. Oxyer

Seyfarth Synopsis:  On September 8, 2020, the EEOC updated its Technical Assistance Q&A webpage to address 18 new questions regarding the application of the Americans With Disabilities Act (“ADA”), the Rehabilitation Act, and other EEO laws to employers continuing to face the struggles
Continue Reading EEOC Update: The Commission Offers Updated COVID-19 Guidance To Address Additional ADA Considerations

By Nolan R. Theurer and Andrew M. McNaught

Seyfarth Synopsis: On August 18, 2020, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit affirmed summary judgment on a plaintiff’s associational disability discrimination and retaliation claims, finding the plaintiff failed to support his allegations with sufficient evidence. The decision prevents plaintiffs with associational discrimination claims from relying on unsupported allegations of
Continue Reading 7th Circuit Focuses On Evidence To Avoid Distraction In Associational Discrimination Case