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Work, Disability & Legal

Now Offline: Government Resources About Long COVID as a Disability
Betsy Ladyzhets, The Sick Times
February 11, 2025

Documents which federal long COVID disability/employment resources were taken offline in early 2025, with archived links to the removed content.

Have Long COVID? Here's What to Know About Disability Insurance
Betsy Ladyzhets, The Sick Times (republished by Wisconsin Watch)
December 19, 2024

A disability attorney walks through employer ERISA insurance and Social Security claims, including how to appeal a denial within the 180-day window.

Covers the National Academies' SSA-commissioned report framing long COVID as part of a "mass-disabling event" that could strain the benefits system.

Resources for People with Long COVID
Administration for Community Living (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services)
May 1, 2024

A federal clearinghouse linking to civil-rights guidance, workplace accommodation resources, and disability-network supports for long COVID.

Long-Term Health Effects of COVID-19: Disability and Function Following SARS-CoV-2 Infection
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
January 1, 2024

An SSA-commissioned consensus study documenting how long COVID symptoms can prevent return to work for six months to two years or longer.

Long COVID: A Guide for Health Professionals on Providing Medical Evidence for Social Security Disability Claims
U.S. Social Security Administration, in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
June 1, 2023

SSA's official guide on exactly what clinical documentation and functional evidence disability examiners look for in long COVID SSDI/SSI claims.

The EEOC's primary technical-assistance document on COVID-19 workplace disability law, including reasonable accommodation examples for long COVID.

Explains why "invisible" long COVID symptoms like fatigue and brain fog are harder to get SSDI approval for than cases with visible organ damage.

People With Long Covid Face Barriers to Government Disability Benefits
Betsy Ladyzhets, KFF Health News
November 9, 2022

Reports on systemic obstacles long COVID patients face applying for SSDI/SSI, including years-long delays and high initial denial rates.

An influential economic analysis estimates 2 to 4 million working-age Americans are out of work due to long COVID, costing $170-230 billion a year.

Guidance on "Long COVID" as a Disability Under the ADA, Section 504, and Section 1557
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (Office for Civil Rights) and U.S. Department of Justice (Civil Rights Division)
July 26, 2021

The official joint federal guidance explaining that long COVID can qualify as a disability under the ADA if it substantially limits a major life activity.

An early, widely cited report follows a long-hauler's job loss and SSDI application, laying out the three basic legal requirements for eligibility.