School and Workplace Accommodations
Support schools and workplaces to affirm, support, and accommodate people with Long COVID and their caregivers.
For: Educators and employers.
Short-term Recommendations:
Long COVID training for workplaces: Provide training and educational materials for workplaces to build awareness, understanding, and empathy towards potential colleagues with Long COVID, with “how to’s” on customizing accommodations to fit the needs of someone with Long COVID.
Accommodation suggestions by work type: Develop general accommodations standards for various types of work and workplaces, acknowledging that different kinds of work require different types of accommodations, and breaking up the bottleneck of case-by-case modifications that delay the changes people with Long COVID need to continue working.
Accommodations guidance for schools: Provide education, guidelines, recommended accommodations, and ready-made “toolkits” for early childhood, primary, secondary, and post-secondary educational institutions to support students with Long COVID.
Long-term Recommendations:
Revisions to accommodations policies: Revise federal and state policies that mandate employers and schools to provide adequate support for people with disabilities, including people with Long COVID.
Job transition assistance: Offer employment assistance for people with Long COVID who can no longer do their jobs and need to seek new employment, such as job-searching assistance and retraining programs.
Hiring incentives: Taking inspiration from group specific tax credits such as The Returning Heroes Tax Credit and the Wounded Warriors Tax Credit, expand the Work Opportunity Tax Credit to include hiring people with disabilities.
Funding for hazard pay and line-of-duty-related infections: Taking inspiration from the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund, provide funding for first responders, health care workers, other essential workers, and their survivors and dependents, who were infected by COVID-19 in the line of duty and are now disabled by Long COVID.
Financial assistance for current and former students: Offer additional financial assistance to current and former college students with Long COVID, including stipends for increased health care or boarding costs, as well as loan forgiveness for graduates.