Legal risks Massachusetts employers face as they resume operations

With nonessential businesses resuming operations across the country, employers are facing difficult new issues as employees try to get back to work. Below are some of the legal pitfalls facing employers in Massachusetts.

COVID-19-related accommodations

First and foremost, employers are facing resistance from employees. Many were (or still are) laid off or furloughed for months, holed up at home with their families, and largely isolated from the outside world in an effort to avoid contracting a highly contagious and sometimes deadly virus. Just because the state and their bosses told them it was okay to come out doesn’t mean everybody is ready to go back to a workplace filled with other people.

This is especially true of the elderly and employees with pre-existing conditions, such as asthma or diabetes, that make them more vulnerable to the disease. Accordingly, employers are receiving unprecedented requests from employees asking for specialized accommodations to reduce their risk of contracting COVID-19. Such requests include on-site coronavirus testing, specific workplace sanitation practices, environmental changes, or even a period of continued leave from work as accommodations for their anxiety or high-risk status.