Long COVID Patients Continue to Struggle for Months, Years

Labor and Employment attorney Kara Ariail spoke with USA Today about the impact long COVID is having on employers and employees. A year after the government formally began studying long COVID, millions still struggle to get back to work, battle with bureaucrats and employers about their disabilities, and need financial help.

The government guidance has put employers on familiar legal ground, by giving long haulers the same workplace protections as other disabilities, similar to being deaf or blind. However, Ms. Ariail acknowledged many employers are struggling to understand what kinds of accommodations they must provide, or what kind of documentation is needed to grant employees short-term disability leave.

"What's so difficult right now is that it's all still so unclear: the degrees of impairment, the degrees of improvement," Ms. Ariail commented. "What I see is that employers want to do the right thing, but to do that, they need information."

READ: Long COVID Patients Continue to Struggle for Months, Years (subscription required)