New Title IX Interpretation
The Department of Education Office of Civil Rights has just released a notice of interpretation. The clarification is based on the Supreme Court case Bostock v. Clayton Count, 140 S.Ct. 1731, 590 U.S. _(2020) that concluded discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity applies to Title VII in employment. Due to the court ruling of Title VII, the DOE has clarified that the inclusion of sexual orientation and gender identity also applies to Title IX. TxSP will be modifying any documents in our collection that pertain to this update.
Resource: Federal Register Notice of interpretation: Enforcement of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 with respect to Discrimination Based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity in light of Bostock v. Clayton County.
COVID-19 May Be a Disability
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) updated its COVID-19 technical assistance adding a new section to clarify what circumstances COVID-19 may be considered a disability under ADA (Title I and Section 501 of the Rehabilitation Act). EEOC states that effects from COVID-19, like other diseases, can lead to a disability protected under the laws the EEOC enforces and can provide eligibility for reasonable accommodations.
Key information:
- In some cases, an applicant’s or employee’s COVID-19 may cause impairments that are themselves disabilities under the ADA, regardless of whether the initial case of COVID-19 itself constituted an actual disability.
- An applicant or employee whose COVID-19 results in mild symptoms that resolve in a few weeks – with no other consequences – will not have an ADA disability that could make someone eligible to receive reasonable accommodations.
- Applicants or employees with disabilities are not automatically entitled to reasonable accommodations under the ADA. They are entitled to a reasonable accommodation when their disability requires it, and the accommodation is not an undue hardship for the employer. Employers can choose to do more than the ADA requires.
- An employer risks violating the ADA if it relies on myths, fears, or stereotypes about a condition and prevents an employee’s return to work once the employee is no longer infectious. And therefore, medically able to return without posing a direct threat to others.
