Episodic Disabilities, COVID-19, and the Workplace

About this Event

Employers are increasingly asked to accommodate workers living with physical and mental health conditions that cause episodic disability, where periods of wellness are punctuated by intermittent and often unpredictable activity limitations. Examples of chronic health conditions causing episodic disability are mental health disorders like depression and anxiety, rheumatic diseases like arthritis and lupus, Crohn’s and colitis, multiple sclerosis, migraines, epilepsy and some types of cancer. Episodic disabilities are challenging for workplaces which must comply with legislation protecting the privacy of health information while believing they would benefit from personal health details to meet a worker’s accommodation needs.

Guest Speaker: Dr. Monique Gignac , Scientific Co-Director & Senior Scientist at the Institute for Work & Health.

Objectives of this presentation are to:

• Understand organizational perspectives on the successes and challenges of disability communication-support processes, including new data related to working with COVID-19.
• Outline areas where new tools and resources are needed to improve communication and accommodation processes
• Present preliminary data on the Job Demands and Accommodation Planning Tool (JDAPT)