The COVID-19 pandemic has caused employers in various industries to lay off, or furlough, many of their employees. In response, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) was signed into law on March 26, 2020. This Act provides an estimated $260 billion in enhanced and expanded Unemployment Insurance (UI) to those who have found themselves without work due to COVID-19. 

The CARES Act includes three new UI programs: Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (PUC), Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC), and Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA).

​This recent fact sheet published by the National Employment Law Project explains who is eligible for these UI programs and provides further information on short-time compensation (work-sharing).

According to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, unless an employee has tested positive for COVID-19 or is showing symptoms of COVID-19, employers are prohibited from excluding individuals with disabilities from the workplace for health or safety reasons.

Equal Employment Opportunity laws (including the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Rehabilitation Act) continue to apply during the novel coronavirus pandemic. The EEOC has developed a guidance document to help employers navigate ADA guidelines as the COVID-19 pandemic evolves.  

This guidance addresses many of the issues faced during workplace pandemic planning, including employee medical examinations upon entering the workplace and reasonable accommodations in the workplace. Protocols for hiring and onboarding new employees are also discussed in the EEOC’s guidance document.