Garrison, Levin-Epstein, Fitzgerald & Pirrotti, P.C. Partner Amanda DeMatteis was featured in a Law360 article, discussing the interplay between employers mandating the COVID-19 vaccine and employee rights under the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA). You can read the full piece here.
While Connecticut has had a relatively high vaccination rate, it has not eliminated all potential workers’ rights concerns in the workplace. Employers can mandate the vaccine, but with caveats for religious and disability related exemptions.
“Most of the clients, relative to these COVID concerns, end up having claims under the Americans with Disabilities Act, just because that is the [vaccine] exception that is recognized under federal law,” Amanda explains. She also believes that there is likely to be an influx of claims for work-from-home reasonable accommodation requests. She distinguishes, though, between remote work requests for people with disabilities and those without. “To simply say, ‘I don’t want to go back to the office anymore because I like working from home better,’ unfortunately, the law isn’t going to protect you there.”
The lawyers of Garrison, Levin-Epstein, Fitzgerald & Pirrotti, P.C. have been advocating for employee and civil rights throughout Connecticut for more than 40 years. From our offices in New Haven, we provide award-winning representation in all aspects of Connecticut employment law.