'Long COVID' and the workplace: What a long, strange trip it's been

Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, many people have caught (or know others who have contracted) the virus. Most who recover from the infection do so within a couple weeks or shortly thereafter. For some, however, the symptoms have persisted for months after contracting the illness. The condition has become so common it's now dubbed as "long COVID" and its victims as "long-haulers."

In light of the developments, the Office for Civil Rights of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) together with the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) recently provided guidance on long COVID under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and other federal laws protecting employees with disabilities from discrimination. Under the ADA, when long-haulers' long COVID symptoms rise to the level of a disability, they may be entitled to reasonable workplace accommodations. Let's take a closer look.

Long Covid as ADA disability

Of the some 34 million Americans who have been diagnosed with COVID-19, approximately 10 percent could become long-haulers, according to estimates. Those suffering from long COVID have reported suffering a litany of long-term symptoms including respiratory complications, fatigue, shortness of breath, dizziness, cognitive impairment, sleep disorders, fevers, gastrointestinal symptoms, and depression (and other emotional and behavioral disorders) that range from mild to incapacitating.

The length of time the long-haulers' symptoms can persist and their severity have led to the recognition that long COVID could rise to the level of a disability under the ADA.