NewHavenBIZ

12 n e w h a v e n B I Z | A p r i l 2 0 2 1 | n e w h a v e n b i z . c o m Workers with lingering COVID-19 side effects create new challenges for employers R eturning to work can be challenging for people who are COVID-19 "long- haulers," those who have recovered from the virus but are dealing with long-term effects. Vic Gara of West Granby, the president and CEO of West Hartford aerospace parts manufacturer United Tool and Die Co., has been out of work for almost a year because of lingering symptoms from the virus. Gara started experiencing severe respiratory symptoms in early March of 2020 at age 56, and his last day of work was March 19. Since then he has endured many ups and downs during several hospitalizations and attempts to return to work. When Gara was a patient at Hartford Hospital he was on a ventilator for 11 days. He said his breathing continues to be difficult and he has been participating in post-COVID rehabilitation sessions at Gaylord Specialty Healthcare in Wallingford to try to get back to full health. "My goal is to go back full time," he said recently. As of mid-March, some 300,000 Connecticut residents had contracted COVID-19, and more than 7,800 people had died from the virus. Of the survivors, many have fully recovered and gone back to work without problems. But for some, their lingering health issues have made returning to work problematic. at's created both staffing and legal challenges for employers who have to walk a fine line between providing reasonable accommodations to COVID-19 long- haulers while also maintaining productivity. A recent study by the University of Washington found that 30 percent of people who had only mild cases of COVID-19 had long-term persistent and debilitating symptoms — including fatigue and loss of smell and taste — that lasted for months and made it harder to carry out daily routine tasks. Flexibility is key Gara's situation isn't unique, and employers should be prepared if their workers experience the same problems, according to legal experts. Sarah Healey, a labor lawyer with Carmody Torrance Sandak & Hennessey LLP in New Haven, said myriad legal issues can arise with long-haulers' returning to work. e goal is to determine what an employer can do to accommodate a worker, Healey said, and what works for one employee may not work for another. She said there are laws that need to be considered as someone transitions back to work. ey include the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which requires reasonable workplace accommodations; the Connecticut Fair Employment Practices Act, which is the state counterpart to the ADA; and the federal Family Medical Leave Act. An employer needs to look at all options for an employee, Healey said. at can mean allowing a worker to work from home or shorter shis, and taking leaves of absence. She said employers are not required to create a position for a worker but can place them in another job if it currently is open. "I think most employers want to get employees back to work," Healey said. She tells employers they need to engage the individual in an interactive process, in which both parties "go back and forth" to reach a suitable arrangement. Healey said if an employee is seeking workers' compensation the individual needs to prove "causation" that he or she got the virus in the workplace. She said the employee would not be covered if the impairment was not from physical injury. e workers' compensation issue has recently gotten the attention of state lawmakers. Some progressive Democrats By Patricia Villers Long-Haulers Attorney Sarah Healey of Carmody Torrance Sandak & Hennessey Vic Gara (right), a COVID-19 long-hauler, takes part in occupational therapy and speech therapy at Gaylord Specialty Healthcare in Wallingford. PHOTO | GAYLORD SPECIALTY HEALTHCARE PHOTO | GAYLORD SPECIALTY HEALTHCARE Mark Zurlis is a COVID-19 survivor who says he can't go back to his former career as a custom cabinet maker because of the virus' impact on his health.

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