Hey, it's mark here and welcome to the next edition of the Employee Survival Guide where I tell you as always, what your employer does definitely not want you to know about a lot more. Hey, it's mark here and welcome back. Today's episode we're gonna talk about the post COVID-19 recovery as a disability under federal disability law. The US government reports that individuals who have recovered from COVID-19 do not have a physical disability under federal disability discrimination laws. However, this conclusion is not accurate. And you need to know why. In an article on November 18 2022, I reported that 60% of the US population 191 million people have a disability called either Long Haul COVID-19 or recovered from COVID 19. The following information will support this legal and medical conclusion and how businesses ensure insurance carriers and federal the federal government do not want to acknowledge it. A new study covering 5 million Americans also supports the conclusion that COVID-19 resides in the body postinfection and can lead to substantially increased risk of further medical consequences upon reinfection. The federal government regards people with who have recovered from COVID-19 as non disabled. The US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission the EEOC, the federal agency charged with the oversight and regulation of the American workplace has stated quote, an employee who has whose COVID-19 results in mild symptoms that resolved in a few weeks, with no other consequences, will not have an EDA disability that could make someone eligible to receive reasonable accommodations and quote, this is a very astounding conclusion given how little the Federal Government currently knows about COVID-19. We do not have a cure for COVID-19 and only limited temporal temporary mitigation measures in the form of vaccines and boosters. The COVID-19 virus is still rampant throughout the country during this the third year of the pandemic. Yet the federal government seeks to define who has a physical disability and who does not. Why the immediate rush to define disability is this a financial prophylactic measure by businesses, insurance carriers and the federal government itself. If the federal government ruled that anyone who recovered from COVID-19 is disabled, each person will be protected from discrimination bias under Title One, which covers employment of the Americans Disabilities Act. And under Title two, which covers public accommodations and local government activities, and Title Three, which covers profit entities and combinations and access to businesses, declaring COVID-19 This disease a disability for those who already have recovered would unleash an enormous economic chaos and uncertainty. The EEOC has stemmed this economic uncertainty by providing guidance that COVID-19 disease among recovered individuals is quote, not a disability under federal disability laws. Once the EEOC issues the so called, quote, guidance, and quote, courts then cite to the guidance as a legal basis to interpret federal disability law. Once courts create precedent, other courts more likely will follow the precedent like a train derailment. Did you ever consider that lobbyists for insurance companies and businesses do not want the federal government to label people as disabled, post COVID-19 recovery? It has already happened and you knew nothing about it. There is also another factor consider whether persons who have recovered from COVID-19 are disabled. In this country, we have a strong federal public policy to protect against discrimination bias in employment, public accommodations and programs receiving federal financial assistance. However, as as of February 2023, I'll be the first to assert that I have seen little to no discrimination bias cases other than long haul covered cases throughout the pandemic. When there is no great push to protect a group of people who have recovered from COVID-19 from discrimination bias, then there is no likelihood that the federal government will implement laws to protect against such discrimination and provide an avenue for prosecution in the courts. So why write this article or this podcast if there is no prevalence of disability discrimination bias The rationale here is that the jury's still out. The current medical data to support the presence of COVID-19 in the body systems of her covered US population, indicate the virus lays dormant post recovery until the next wave of infection, thereby multiplying the medical consequences on the body. In a study published in nature.com, discussed later on this podcast and article provides disturbing evidence based on sampling of more than 5 million Americans. Based on this study, I argue that post COVID-19 recovery population is disabled because their body systems, the immune systems, among many others, are still substantially limited. In fact, the study found a substantial increased risk of medical consequences due to COVID 19 reinfection of pulmonary cardiovascular hematological, diabetes, gastrointestinal, kidney, mental health, muscle, skeletal, and neurological disorders. So much so that the authors of the study warned strongly against reinfection. The case of longhaul COVID. The discussion about COVID-19 as a disability would not be complete, unless we address longhaul COVID-19 And how the federal government handles the condition. A study from the University of Southern California in July of 2022 found that 23% of people infected with COVID-19 will become long haulers, with symptoms lasting for months. We already know that 191 million people living in the US contracted COVID-19 and 23% of them equates to an estimated 44 million people who have long haul EOC chair Charlotte boroughs said quote, like effects from other diseases effects from COVID-19 can lead to a disability protected under the laws of the EEOC. The EEOC enforces workers with disabilities stemming from COVID-19 are protected from employment discrimination, and may be eligible for reasonable accommodations and quote, according to the federal government. If you have a long haul COVID-19 You may be considered an individual with a disability under civil rights laws, including the Americans Disabilities Act and the Rehabilitation Act. Under these laws, someone with Long Haul COVID-19 has a disability that individuals condition or any of its symptoms is a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities. The Department of Health and Human Human Services has issued a statement, quote, whether an individual with long haul covered is substantially limited in a major bodily function, or other major life activity is determined without the benefit of any medication treatment or other measures used by the individual to lessen or compensate for symptoms. And here's the most important part they said, even if the impairment comes and goes, it is considered a disability if it was substantially limit a major life activity when the impairment is active. Unquote. But see how this is worded. The HSS does not want to state specifically that you have a disability when COVID-19 is not active, what I call post recovery. Why is this because to go further into label and individuals who have recovered from COVID-19 is disabled, would force businesses, insurance carriers and the federal government to extend money to provide services, insurance and financial aid to many more Americans at enormous economic costs, simply, I argue, is all about the money. The case of the Zika virus for comparison purposes. I'm arguing that the COVID-19 remains in the body undetected and should be classified as a disability in individuals who have recovered from COVID-19. This is not the first time a situation like this has occurred. One example is the Zika virus. And the federal government did did in fact label the Zika virus a disability under their so called EEOC guidance. According to the EEOC, quote, The Zika virus is transmitted to people primarily through an infected species of mosquito. Mosquitoes become infected when they bite a person already infected with the virus. The virus can also spread through sexual contact, and from a pregnant woman to her fetus during pregnancy, or or around the time of birth. Many people infected with the Zika virus experienced no symptoms or only mild symptoms, which is similar to what happens in COVID. People rarely die from Zika so you can can cause significant complications including congenital conditions in fetuses and infants when contracted during pregnancy. The following stable give you pause when you compare it to the current ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in the post recovery status So many Americans, the EEOC said the following about the Zika virus that's equally applied to individuals who have recovered from COVID-19. But the EEOC refused to go further, most likely, because the enormous financial impact on businesses insurance carriers and the federal government. Here's what the EEOC said. Quote, impairment does not have to prevent or severely significantly reduce restrict performance of a major lack of activity, in order to be considered substantially limited in performing activities such as caring for oneself, or major bodily functions like the immune system functions are affected and quote. Likewise, a person who has recovered from the COVID-19 virus can be disabled because they are still substantially limited in a major bodily function such as the immune system, even if the person has no symptoms. We do not know if the COVID-19 virus is adversely impacting the immune system of individuals who have recovered from the virus as a virus is lying dormant on detected within the immune system and other body systems. The following study published in the journal nature.com in 2022, provides very alarming evidence that supports the dormancy theory and continued body system consequences that would support the conclusion that many who have recovered from COVID-19 Still have a physical disability that should be protected under federal law. The study findings stated in part in this study of 5 million people, including 400,000 People with first infection and 40,000 people who have reinfection and 5 million non infected controls. So that was important they had a control group. Study goes on to say we showed that compared to people with no reinfection people who had reinfection exhibited increased risks of all core cause mortality, which means deaths from all causes of death, hospitalization, and several pre specified outcomes. The risks were evident and those who were unvaccinated and had one of that one vaccination or two or more vaccinations before reinfection. Although the findings show that the reinfection further increases risk of all cause mortality and adverse health outcomes in both the acute and post acute phases of the reinfection. The findings highlight the clinical consequences of reinfection and emphasize the importance of preventing reinfection by SARS COVID to the study also stated. Furthermore, impaired health as a consequence of the first infection might result in increased risk of adverse health consequences upon reinfection. Our results, expand this evidence base and show that people who get reinfected reinfection compared to no infection further increases risk in both the acute and post acute phases. And that and that was evident, even among fully vaccinated people, suggesting that even combined a hybrid of natural immunity versus versus from previous infection and vaccine induced immunity does not abrogate the risk of adverse health effects after reinfection. And quote, the study is then summed up by saying up to 5 million individuals, we provide evidence that reinfection contributes to an additional health risk beyond those incurred in the first infection, including all cause mortality, hospitalization, and consequences in a broad broader array of organ systems. The risks were evident in the acute and post acute phases of reinfection. The evidence suggests that for people who already had a first infection, prevention of the second infection may protect from additional health risks, prevention of infection and reinfection with COVID should be continued to be the goal of public policy. Unquote. In conclusion, anyone who has recovered from COVID-19 should be considered disabled under the various federal laws, we should not have to wait for reinfection to explain the Muriatic medical complications that may already be negatively impacting millions of Americans. Without a proper labeling of the post COVID recovery as a disability. Many Americans risk denial of medical, legal and financial coverage associated with the initial COVID 19 infection. We are in a current state of denial and chaos created to benefit those entities and organizations who would otherwise pay out of pocket. The current system is rigged against the American public, and no one has noticed. Until now, hope you enjoy the podcast and talk to you soon. If you'd like the Employees Survival Guide, I'd really encourage you to leave a review. We try really hard to produce information to you that's informative, that's timely that you can actually use and solve problems on your own. and at your employment. So if you like to leave a review anywhere you listen to our podcasts, please do so. And leave five stars because anything Less than five is really not as good, right? I'll keep it up. I'll keep the standards up. I'll keep the information flowing out you. 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