The latest development in Congress's response to the COVID-19 pandemic has come in the form of Senate Bill 3548: The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act).

With the rapidly evolving business and community environment as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, here is some basic guidance on how the pandemic could affect workers’ compensation and how employers can respond.

On March 18, 2020, the U.S. Senate passed and President Trump signed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, which we first described to you on March 16, 2020, following its passage of the U.S. House of Representatives. This new law comes as employers around the world are reeling from the COVID-19 pandemic. Lanier Ford's employment lawyers have already provided guidance to multiple employers to assist them in responding to this virtually unprecedented issue.

In a little-noticed posting on its website, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) this week provided some relief to employers from their ordinary obligations to avoid activities that might constitute a "medical test." Typically, employers in the United States covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) are required to refrain from conducting "medical examinations" of their employees except under certain limits set out in ADA regulations. Some of these exceptions include—