For about a year, coronavirus outbreaks and variants tossed and turned employers' office reopening plans. With case numbers trending downward and public attention to the omicron variant fading, however, such plans are once again resurfacing.

Microsoft, for example, implemented the final stage of its hybrid workplace model effective Feb. 28, according to its official blog, and has fully opened its facilities to employees, visitors and guests, citing high vaccination rates in the county where most corporate employees live.

Facebook parent company Meta has set a March 14 deadline for employees to request either a full-time or temporary remote work arrangement, the company confirmed in an email to HR Dive, and all others will begin working from Meta's U.S. offices on March 28. …

At a more basic level, employers should ensure that managers are trained to understand that long COVID-19 can constitute a disability and to be responsive to an employee's request for accommodation related to such a disability, said Adam Sencenbaugh, partner at Haynes Boone.

Additionally, a lack of awareness around long COVID-19 could make it difficult for employees to recognize potential symptoms of the condition in the first place. Sencenbaugh said confusion on the part of the employee about their symptoms also may lead to mental health issues, such as depression.

"That puts a lot more onus on the employer to be vigilant about that and to be ready to respond," Sencenbaugh said. Managers, he added, can point workers in the direction of employee assistance programs and other avenues that may guide them toward needed care. …