NewHavenBIZ

n e w h a v e n b i z . c o m | A p r i l 2 0 2 1 | n e w h a v e n B I Z 13 EMCOR SERVICES NEW ENGLAND MECHANICAL We'll be there when you need us. With 50+ years of experience and more than 300 continuously trained, licensed, and certified facilities services technicians, we provide a wide range of building construction and facilities solutions across New England. COUNT ON NEMSI FOR: HVAC, Plumbing and Process Piping Design-Build Construction Electrical Services Energy Management Systems LEED Certification Programs Comprehensive Preventive Maintenance Programs 24/7/365 Emergency Response Call 860.871.1111 Toll Free 800.741.6367 Fax 866.481.3250 55 Gerber Road East, South Windsor, CT 06074 nemsi.com OFFICES IN Trumbull | New London | Palmer, MA | Albany, NY | Manchester, NH License #s: E1-0125666 • S1-302974 • P1-203519 • F1-10498 • SM1-192 • MC-1134 have recently proposed a bill that would make it easier for workers to claim they contracted COVID-19 on the job, making it more likely they file a successful workers' compensation claim. No cookie-cutter solutions Labor lawyer Lawrence Peikes, a partner at Wiggin and Dana LLP in New Haven, said an employer's "accommodation obligation only kicks in if the individual long-hauler suffers from a disability within the meaning of the ADA or its state law counterpart." Peikes said, "If, due to lingering effects of COVID-19, the employee has been advised not to return to the workplace, a determination will have to be made as to whether a work-from-home arrangement, or some other accommodation, such as assignment to an isolated office, is feasible." He noted that some jobs require face-to- face interaction with colleagues, clients or patrons, and simply cannot effectively be performed at home. "But the pandemic has taught us that many jobs can be effectively and efficiently performed remotely, so employers may have to consider a work-from- home accommodation even where it may not be ideal," Peikes said. According to Peikes, any accommodations must be tailored to the individual circumstances, so there are no cookie-cutter solutions. "e key for employers is to be flexible and make a sincere effort to identify an accommodation that works for all parties," Peikes added. Diane C. Mokriski, human resources counsel for the CBIA said: "Employers seem nervous about asking questions of their employees. at's the biggest mistake an employer can make." e concept of COVID long-haulers "is brand new," Mokriski said. "ose people will be found to have a disability," under the ADA, which requires a reasonable accommodation for the worker. Employers need to ask their employees what post-COVID symptoms they are experiencing, she said, which involves an interactive process between both parties. Mokriski said in addition to improving communication, employers need to become "more creative, more flexible" when dealing with the issue of long-haulers returning to work. Helping people rejoin the workforce Physiatrist Dr. Jerrold Kaplan is director of Gaylord Specialty Healthcare's Outpatient COVID Recovery Program, which has helped survivors like Gara deal with the residual effects of the virus. "COVID has created a unique challenge [as far as patients] returning to work," Kaplan said in a recent interview. e disease can cause difficulty breathing, shortness of breath and inflammation of the heart, muscles and nervous system. Other issues patients can face include neuropathy, achy joints, brain fog, anxiety and depression. Kaplan said survivors may experience cognitive difficulties. "COVID attacks the whole body," Kaplan said. "I'm seeing a lot of common factors, such as fatigue and generalized weakness." He said even "extraordinarily fit" patients will exhibit "severe exercise intolerance" that makes it hard for them to get back to work. At Gaylord, patients recovering from COVID receive a variety of therapies to help in their recovery and rehabilitation. Kaplan says when patients are suffering from fatigue they need to transition to the workplace by returning part time "with modifications." He advocates for individuals who have survived COVID in their quest to return to work and he says employers need to accommodate them. Gara participates in Gaylord's COVID survivors' support group that meets every other Tuesday via Zoom. He said there are more than 100 COVID survivors who are or have been members, and he is among a core group of about 10. Working through his recovery symptoms has been "a huge relief," Gara said, because it validates his experience by knowing others have been in the same position. Getting back to work Another long-hauler, Mark Zurlis, survived a severe case of COVID this winter, but because of the toll the virus took on him physically he now needs to start a new career. Zurlis, 27, of Wallingford said he's still having breathing problems. He had been employed as a custom cabinet maker but can no longer do that work. "I have to start a new job because [I can't be around] the sawdust and the chemicals in the paint we use," Zurlis said. He described his life as "chaotic" since getting married on Nov. 7. "I went on my honeymoon, came back, worked for a week-and-a-half, and then got COVID," Zurlis said. Aer not feeling well and testing positive, he quarantined for two weeks. But he said his illness "got progressively worse. I had no relief in December, and my breathing started to deteriorate." Zurlis said his blood pressure "went through the roof." He now takes medication to control it and has been treated twice in an emergency room. His condition has been improving since he started participating in post-COVID pulmonary rehabilitation sessions twice a week at Gaylord Specialty Healthcare. "I definitely feel much better now, but it's a long process," he said. n Lawrence Peikes Dr. Jerrold Kaplan Diane C. Mokriski, human resources counsel, CBIA Source: Office of Gov. Lamont CT's COVID-19 Tally Stats through March 29 308,439 COVID-19 cases 7,643,087 COVID-19 tests reported 498 Patients currently hospitalized with COVID-19 7,883 COVID-19 associated deaths

• Cover