Workplace COVID Testing Must Be “Business Necessity” United States Equal Opportunity Commission Says
The United States Equal Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) enforces workplace anti-discrimination laws, including the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) and the Rehabilitation Act.
On July 12, 2022, the EEOC announced that employers should take more factors into consideration when choosing whether to screen employees for Covid-19. Now, “employers will need to access whether current pandemic circumstances and individual workplace circumstances justify viral screening testing” for employees in an update to its technical assistance guidance (https://www.eeoc.gov/wysk/what-you-should-know-about-covid-19-and-ada-rehabilitation-act-and-other-eeo-laws#A.6). The EEOC found that a “Covid-19 test is a medical examination within the meaning of the [Americans with Disabilities Act].” As a result, if an employer requires mandatory medical tests of employees, they must “be job-related and consistent with business necessity.”
Recently, McDonald’s has been receiving much attention for its closure of restaurants in Russia due to Russia’s aggression into Ukraine. As part of the coverage, news outlets have been reporting on some of the underlying infrastructure McDonald’s invested in as part of its efforts to expand into Russia. As 
On May 23, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court, in a unanimous decision, decided Morgan v. Sundance, Inc., No. 21-328, in favor of an employee who sued her employer, a Taco Bell franchisee, for wage theft. The Court concluded that waiving arbitration rights does not require a showing that the party seeking to have their case heard in federal court would be prejudiced by continuing with arbitration. The case, although decided on narrow grounds, demonstrates the risk that a party takes when it decides to delay enforcing a contractual arbitration provision. By eliminating the prejudice requirement, the Court removed a safety valve that saved parties who decided to forgo arbitration for a period of time, then ultimately opted for arbitration. As a result of the holding, a party seeking to invoke the right to arbitrate should not delay, or they will risk forfeiture of the right to arbitrate at a later time.