Under EEOC guidance, an employer may require an individual with a disability to meet a job-qualification standard that applies to all employees – such as a COVID‑19 vaccination – if the standard is job-related and consistent with business necessity. If a particular employee cannot meet such standard because of a disability, the employer may not require compliance for that employee unless it can demonstrate that the individual would pose a “direct threat” to the health or safety of the employee or others in the workplace. “Direct threat” means a “significant risk of substantial harm” that cannot be eliminated or reduced by reasonable accommodation. The EEOC provides that an employer must first determine if there is a direct threat. Second, the employer must assess whether a reasonable accommodation, that would not cause undue hardship, would reduce or eliminate the threat. As a best practice, the EEOC recommends that an employer introducing a COVID-19 vaccination policy notify all employees that the employer will consider requests for reasonable accommodation based on disability on an individualized basis. See the EEOC guide What You Should Know About COVID-19 and the ADA, the Rehabilitation Act, and Other EEO Laws. If a disabled employee is not required to have ADA protection based on the foregoing guidance, the EEOC guidance could serve as an argument in favor of a premium surcharge. However, IRS rules would also need to be considered.
