The Future of Teleworking Accommodations under the ADA Post-COVID-19
![handle is hein.journals/ukalr70 and id is 121 raw text is: The Future of Teleworking Accommodations
Under the ADA Post-COVID-19
Katie Deutsch*
I. INTRODUCTION
Janet Pearce was thriving in her dream job.' Starting as a researcher
for NBC in 1967, she ascended through the network to eventually become
a senior producer, receiving numerous awards along the way.2 However,
amid her success at work, Pearce was also battling multiple sclerosis--the
symptoms and treatments for which eventually prevented her from
working full-time in the newsroom.3 Yet, Pearce's successful tenure at
NBC did not waiver.4 This is because she had the option to telework.5
Pearce's teleworking success story represents the Americans with
Disabilities Act's (ADA) primary goal to guarantee that people with
disabilities have the same opportunities as everyone else to participate in
the mainstream of American life.6 To further this goal, the ADA
prohibits employers from discriminating on the basis of disability?--
including not making reasonable accommodations for their employees'
* J.D. Candidate, 2022, University of Kansas School of Law; B.A. Political Science and B.B.A.
Economics, 2017, Wichita State University. I would like to thank Professor Joyce Rosenberg for her
insights and advice on this Comment, and the staff and editorial board at the Kansas Law Review for
their time and effort in editing it. I would also like to thank my parents, Steve and Cindy Deutsch, my
sister, Kellie Deutsch, and my fiance, Matthew Conklin, for constantly supporting me through the
writing process and beyond.
1. Maggie Gram, For Many Caregivers and People with Disabilities, WFH Was Never Just a
Perk, N.Y. TIMES (July 13, 2021), https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/27/at-home/work-from-home-
history.html [https://perma.cc/33DW-QXBK].
2. Id.
3. Id.
4. Id.
5. Id.
6. Information and Technical Assistance on the Americans with Disabilities Act, U.S. DEP'T
JUST. C.R. DIV., ada.gov/adaintro.htm [https://perma.cc/2FT5-DSEU] (last visited Aug. 26, 2021).
7. 42 U.S.C. § 12112(a).
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The Future of Teleworking Accommodations under the ADA Post-COVID-19
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