The American with Disabilities Amendments Act of 2008

October 1, 2008

On September 25, 2008, the President signed the Americans with Disabilities Amendments Act of 2008 (ADAA).1  The Act makes important changes to the definition of the term "disability" by rejecting the holdings in several Supreme Court decisions and portions of Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's (EEOC) regulations under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA).2

When Congress passed the ADA, it expected the definition of disability would be interpreted consistently with how courts had applied the definition of handicap under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.  In the last decade, that expectation has not been fulfilled. The decisions of the Supreme Court in Sutton v. United Airlines, Inc., 527 U.S. 471 (1999), and in Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky, Inc. v. Williams, 534 U.S. 184 (2002) narrowed the broad scope of protection intended to be afforded by the ADA, eliminating protection for many individuals.3

Mitigating Measures

The ADAA rejects the requirement articulated by the Supreme Court in Sutton v. United Airlines, Inc., and its companion cases that the decision whether an impairment substantially limits a major life activity is to be determined with reference to the ameliorative effects of mitigating measures.  To correct this, the ADAA states that mitigating measures other than "ordinary eyeglasses or contact lenses" shall not be considered in assessing whether an individual has a disability."4'

Substantially Limits' and `Major Life Activities'

In Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky, Inc. v. Williams, the Supreme Court reasoned that the terms 'substantially and major' in the definition of disability under the ADA "need to be interpreted strictly to create a demanding standard for qualifying as disabled," and that to be substantially limited in performing a major life activity under the ADA "an individual must have an impairment that prevents or severely restricts the individual from doing activities that are of central importance to most people's daily lives."

Congress has directed the EEOC to revise the portion of its regulations defining the term "substantially limits" and to provide a new definition to indicate the departure from the strict and demanding standard applied by the Supreme Court in Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky, Inc. v. Williams and numerous lower courts.  The ADAA defines the term "substantially limits" to mean materially restricts.5  Also in response to Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky, Inc. v. Williams, the Act expands the definition of "major life activities" by including two non-exhaustive lists.6  The first list includes many activities that the EEOC has previously, recognized (e.g., walking) as well as activities that EEOC has not specifically recognized (e.g., reading, bending, and communicating).  The second list includes major bodily functions (e.g., functions of the immune system, normal cell growth, digestive, bowel, bladder, neurological, brain, respiratory, circulatory, endocrine, and reproductive functions).7

`Regarded As'

The ADAA also provides that individuals covered only under the "regarded as" prong are not entitled to reasonable accommodation.8  An individual meets the requirement of being regarded as having such an impairment if the individual establishes that he or she has been subjected to an action prohibited because of an actual or perceived physical or mental impairment whether or not the impairment limits or is perceived to limit a major life activity.  This protection does not apply to impairments that are transitory and minor, defined as those with an actual or expected duration of 6 months or less.9

Endnotes

1.  The Americans with Disabilities Amendments Act (ADAA), Public Law 110-325, is available at: http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=110_cong_bills&docid=f:h3195pcs.txt.pdf.

2.  See EEOC, Notice Concerning The Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) Amendments Act Of 2008, http://www.eeoc.gov/ada/amendments_notice.html. (EEOC Notice).

3.  ADAA Section 2 (4)-(5).

4.  ADAA Section 3 (5)(D)(i).

5.  ADAA Section 3 (2).

6.  See ADAA Section 3 (3).

7.  See ADAA Section 3, EEOC Notice.

8.  See ADAA Section 6, EEOC Notice.

9.  See ADAA Section 3 (4).