With COVID-19 cases again on the rise thanks to the BA.5 subvariant, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) has issued new guidance that, for the first time since the onset of the pandemic, places some restrictions on an employer’s unlimited ability to test employees for COVID-19.
On July 12, 2022, the EEOC updated its ongoing questions and answers document, “What You Should Know about COVID-19 and the ADA, the Rehabilitation Act, and Other EEO Laws,” to address an employer’s ability to screen employees for COVID-19. In the early stages of the pandemic, the EEOC allowed employers to readily require COVID-19 viral testing of employees prior to reentry to the workplace, stating that such testing met the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) requirement that a medical examination be “job-related and consistent with business necessity.”
