Must you keep providing telework after pandemic eases? EEOC pursues key test case.

Last year, the EEOC endorsed remote work as an effective accommodation for disabled employees with pre-existing health conditions that made them more susceptible to COVID infections.

But as the pandemic eases, when is a company required to continue offering telework as an accommodation?

The EEOC has filed an important lawsuit on this issue, testing the argument that telework should continue to be a legal accommodation option even for workers who aren't technically disabled but are at a higher risk of COVID complications.

Recent case: A Georgia company sent employees to work from home for a couple months during the pandemic. When it reopened its doors in the summer of 2020, Ronisha asked to continue teleworking because her pulmonary disease put her at greater risk of contracting a deadly COVID infection. The company denied her request and she was later terminated for "performance issues."

Now the EEOC has sued the company, alleging Ronisha's accommodation request was reasonable because the...