Resolving Tensions Between Disability Rights Law and COVID-19 Mask Policies

Abstract

As states reopen, an increasing number of state and local officials are requiring people to wear face masks while out of the home.Grocery stores, retail outlets, restaurants, and other businesses are also announcing their own mask policies, which may differ from public policies. Public health measures to stop the spread of the coronavirus such as wearing masks have the potential to greatly benefit millions of Americans with disabilities, who are particularly vulnerable to the impact of COVID-19. But certain disabilities may make it difficult or inadvisable to wear a mask.Mask-wearing has become a political flashpoint, putting people with disabilities at risk. There are reports emerging that people with disabilities have been challenged, excluded from retail establishments, and even threatened with arrest for not wearing masks. Some anti-mask activists encourage their followers to falsely represent themselves as disabled to confound mask requirements, which has the potential to amplify skepticism and mistrust of people with non-obvious disabilities. Reports of violent conflict over mask-wearing add to these tensions. The first lawsuit challenging a mask requirement under federal disability rights law was filed in late May, and more are likely to follow.Federal laws like the Americans with Disabilities Act ("ADA") prohibit discrimination on the basis of disability and require appropriate modification of public and private mask-wearing policies to accommodate the needs of individuals with disabilities. These laws, like other civil rights statutes, remain in force during

Masks, Gloves, and the COVID-19 Pandemic: Rapid Assessment of Public Behaviors in the United States

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“…Overall, Republicans had much more opposing and negative views for wearing face masks, given a variety of questions on wearing masks [5]. Concerns about being judged, racially profiled, and discriminated against were also highlighted in mass media concerning Americans wearing face masks in public places [4,6].…”

Workplace health surveillance and COVID-19: algorithmic health discrimination and cancer survivors

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Pandemics at Work: Convergence of Epidemiology and Ethics

“…Rubin (2020: 2016) argues that employer mandates comply with the business necessity standard of the ADA according to EEOC guidance. Pendo, Gatter, and Mohapatra (2020) explore the tensions between disability rights law and COVID-19 mask mandates as one of the challenges confronting the fair application of organizational policies on differently abled workers who assert that they have a disability.…”