Page 14 - BusinessWest May 1, 2023

LAW>>
Return-to-office Mandates and Related Woes
Suit Shows That Employers Must Engage in Interactive Dialogue
BAY TREVOR BRICE COVID-19 Policies and
Protected Class
In general, employers can impose any sort of dis- cipline or policy on their employees. However, there are exceptions to this general rule, specifically that employers cannot discipline or impose policy that is either directly or indirectly based on the employee’s protected class (e.g., race, color, disability, age, sex, or ancestry).
As we come out of the COVID-19 pandemic, most employers are setting up policies mandating that employees come back to the office, some of them with penalties attached if employees do not comply. For example, Apple recently threatened disciplinary action for employees that are not coming into the office at least three days per week. Policies like these are facially neutral and non-discriminatory in their pur- pose. Every employer has a legitimate business inter- est in enforcing attendance, and policies like these have become more commonplace.
However, these policies run the risk of disability or even age discrimination. Some employers might ask
“As we come out of the COVID- 19 pandemic, most employers are setting
up policies mandating that employees come back
to the office, some of them with penalties attached if employees do not comply.”
s pressure increases on companies to have an in-person presence post-pan- demic, many companies have issued return-to-office mandates. Some of these, if they are not heeded by employees cur-
rently working remotely, can result in severe penal- ties, including loss of compensation, bonuses, even termination.
While these companies can impose these penal- ties on their wayward employees, it is now the time to remember one of the reasons why employees request to work from home: as a disability- or age-related accommodation.
On March 28, the Equal Employment Opportu- nity Commission (EEOC) announced suit against an employer who disciplined an employee in relation
to one of these policies. This serves as a reminder
of what employers’ responsibilities are to employ-
ees with age- or disability-related accommodation requests, despite being able to pressure employees to come back to the office.
14 MAY 1, 2023 << LAW >> BusinessWest