The sweeping changes to the ADA in the last ten years have drastically changed the ADA challenges faced by employers. In addition, COVID-based ADA issues are multiplying, and the EEOC has issued extensive Guidance on COVID/ADA issues.

ADA claims are now over 37% of all EEOC charges, at their highest level ever, and 2021 EEOC ADA enforcement netted almost $122 million. The focus has shifted from whether an individual has a disability to whether an individual is qualified, whether the employer properly engaged in the interactive process, and whether the employer offered a reasonable accommodation to the much larger number of individuals who are considered disabled under the ADA.

Every employer needs to understand how the courts and the EEOC have addressed disability issues since the ADA Amendments Act (ADAAA). Learn the appropriate action to stay in compliance with the new realities of the EEOC's regulations and targeted enforcement and the rapidly evolving court decisions under the ADAAA and the regulations.

In addition, the COVID pandemic adds many new ADA issues, including the effect of pandemic work-from-home experiences on employees' telework requests.What You'll Learn:

• How the EEOC Regulations Alter the Analysis of Whether an Individual Is Disabled, Including COVID Issues, and How the Courts Have Applied the Amended ADA and Regulations
• Whether EEOC's Regulations Make ADA Coverage Almost Equivalent to That of Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
• Are Even Short-Term Impairments Now Covered Disabilities?
  
• The Critical Interplay Between Leave as an Accommodation and the FMLA
• Dealing With Difficult Medical Conditions, Including COVID, Long COVID, Diabetes, Epilepsy, Obesity, and Cancer
• How to Address Mental Disorders and Intellectual Disabilities Such as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Major Depressive Disorder, Bipolar Disorder, Schizophrenia, and COVID 'Brain Fog'
• When Can Employers Invoke the Direct Threat Defense
• The 'Regarded as' Disability Definition That Makes It Apply to Many More Individuals and Avoiding New 'Regarded as' Claims
• The Critical Role of Job Descriptions Under the ADAAA
• Have the EEOC and the Courts Now Held That Cost Is Never a Legitimate Consideration as to the Reasonableness of an Accommodation?
• Hot Button Accommodation Issues
  • Teleworking - When Is It Required and the Dramatic Change in Analysis Due to COVID Work-From-Home Experiences
    
  • What Medical Information May an Employer Request?
    
  • Reassignment and Reasonable Accommodations
    
  • Are Extended or Open-Ended Leaves Reasonable Accommodations?
    
  • Are Service and/or Emotional Support Animals Reasonable Accommodations?