As employers reopen their physical workspaces they should anticipate challenges to their reopening plans as well as to the workplace arrangements adopted during the pandemic. The top areas for COVID-19-related employment litigation include disability and accommodation claims, wage-and-hour disputes, and workplace safety complaints.

COVID-19 brought significant workplace changes and forced many employers to make quick decisions about alternative workplace arrangements to ensure the continuity of business operations. Those decisions included the relocation of employees from workplace offices to home offices, and the adoption of measures to ensure the workplace safety of employees. As the pandemic morphs into an endemic, and employers focus on return to workplace plans, they may face a surge of employment litigation over return to workplace claims, wage-and-hour disputes, and workplace safety complaints. Up-to-date policies concerning how workplaces are reopened, which employees are recalled to the workplace, and how to continue to protect employees from exposure to COVID-19 in the workplace are essential to minimize legal risks and defend against potential litigation.

Return to Workplace Claims

Compelled by the COVID-19 pandemic, many employers implemented remote work arrangements as a temporary solution. As employers are returning employees to their physical workplaces, some are considering permanent adoption of hybrid remote work arrangements or the elimination of remote...

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