Tag Archives: long haulers

“Long COVID” as a Disability Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, Section 504, and Section 1557

August 5, 2021 By in Coronavirus, Federal Agencies, MEDical Tags: , , , , , , ,

 

 

Late last month, HHS/Office of Civil Rights and DOJ/Civil Rights Division Disability Rights Section released its guidance for “long COVID” or “long haulers”.

Although many people with COVID-19 get better within weeks, some people continue to experience symptoms that can last months after first being infected, or may have new or recurring symptoms at a later time.1 This can happen to anyone who has had COVID-19, even if the initial illness was mild. People with this condition are sometimes called “long-haulers.” This condition is known as “long COVID.”2

The new guidance explains that long COVID can be a disability under the ADA, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act, and explains how these laws may apply. Each of these federal laws protects people with disabilities from discrimination.

1. What is long COVID and what are its symptoms?

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), people with long COVID have a range of new or ongoing symptoms that can last weeks or months after they are infected with the virus that causes COVID-19 and that can worsen with physical or mental activity.8 Examples of common symptoms of long COVID include:

• Tiredness or fatigue
• Difficulty thinking or concentrating (sometimes called “brain fog”)
• Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
• Headache
• Dizziness on standing
• Fast-beating or pounding heart (known as heart palpitations)
• Chest pain
• Cough
• Joint or muscle pain
• Depression or anxiety
• Fever
• Loss of taste or smell

This list is not exhaustive. Some people also experience damage to multiple organs including the heart, lungs, kidneys, skin, and brain.

2. Can long COVID be a disability under the ADA, Section 504, and Section 1557?

Yes, long COVID can be a disability under the ADA, Section 504, and Section 1557 if it substantially limits one or more major life activities.9 These laws and their related rules define a person with a disability as an individual with a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of the major life activities of such individual (“actual disability”); a person with a record of such an impairment (“record of”); or a person who is regarded as having such an impairment (“regarded as”).10 A person with long COVID has a disability if the person’s condition or any of its symptoms is a “physical or mental” impairment that “substantially limits” one or more major life activities. This guidance addresses the “actual disability” part of the disability definition. The definition also covers individuals with a “record of” a substantially limiting impairment or those “regarded as” having a physical impairment (whether substantially limiting or not). This document does not address the “record of” or “regarded as” parts of the disability definition, which may also be relevant to claims regarding long COVID.

a. Long COVID is a physical or mental impairment

A physical impairment includes any physiological disorder or condition affecting one or more body systems, including, among others, the neurological, respiratory, cardiovascular, and circulatory systems. A mental impairment includes any mental or psychological disorder, such as an emotional or mental illness.11 Long COVID is a physiological condition affecting one or more body systems. For example, some people with long COVID experience:

• Lung damage
• Heart damage, including inflammation of the heart muscle
• Kidney damage
• Neurological damage
• Damage to the circulatory system resulting in poor blood flow
• Lingering emotional illness and other mental health conditions

Accordingly, long COVID is a physical or mental impairment under the ADA, Section 504, and Section 1557.12

b. Long COVID can substantially limit one or more major life activities

“Major life activities” include a wide range of activities, such as caring for oneself, performing manual tasks, seeing, hearing, eating, sleeping, walking, standing, sitting, reaching, lifting, bending, speaking, breathing, learning, reading, concentrating, thinking, writing, communicating, interacting with others, and working. The term also includes the operation of a major bodily function, such as the functions of the immune system,
cardiovascular system, neurological system, circulatory system, or the operation of an organ. The term “substantially limits” is construed broadly under these laws and should not demand extensive analysis. The impairment does not need to prevent or significantly restrict an individual from performing a major life activity, and the limitations do not need to be severe, permanent, or long-term. Whether an individual with long COVID is substantially limited in a major bodily function or other major life activity is determined without the benefit of any medication, treatment, or other measures used by the individual to lessen or compensate for symptoms. Even if the impairment comes and goes, it is considered a disability if it would substantially limit a major life activity when the impairment is active. Long COVID can substantially limit a major life activity. The situations in which an individual with long COVID might be substantially limited in a major life activity are diverse. Among possible examples, some include:

• A person with long COVID who has lung damage that causes shortness of breath, fatigue, and related effects is substantially limited in respiratory function, among other major life activities.
• A person with long COVID who has symptoms of intestinal pain, vomiting, and nausea that have lingered for months is substantially limited in gastrointestinal function, among other major life activities.
• A person with long COVID who experiences memory lapses and “brain fog” is substantially limited in brain function, concentrating, and/or thinking.

Read more here.

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