ADA Amendments Act of 2008 Expands Disability Definition

President Bush signed the “ADA Amendments Act of 2008” into law. The new provisions become effective on January 1, 2009. The Amendments Act broadens the scope of protection originally provided through the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA). This change negates several Supreme Court decisions and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) regulations.

Now more people will be protected under the ADA by virtue of the Amendments Act. While the definition of disability remains the same – “a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities” – the application of that language has changed under the Amendments Act. Major changes are highlighted below:

 
CHANGE 1

Under 1990 ADA Law
Currently, a person is considered disabled based on mitigating measures he or she uses to manage a disability. Example: a person with diabetes had to demonstrate that diabetes “substantially limited” a major life activity to meet the disability definition.     

Under Amendments Act
Now, courts can no longer consider the ameliorative effects of mitigating medications or prosthetics, except for eyeglasses or contact lenses, in determining whether an individual’s impairment substantially limits a major life activity.

CHANGE 2

Under 1990 ADA Law     
The list of “major life activities” was limited by regulation and some court interpretations.   

Under Amendments Act
Under the Act, the definition of “major life activities” includes items from the regulations and new items, including caring for oneself, performing manual tasks, seeing, hearing, eating, sleeping, walking, standing, lifting, bending, speaking, breathing, learning, reading, concentrating, thinking, communicating and working.

Major life activities now also include the operation of major bodily functions, including but not limited to, functions of the immune system, normal cell growth, digestive, bowel, bladder, neurological, brain, respiratory, circulatory, endocrine and reproductive functions.
   
CHANGE 3
  
Under 1990 ADA Law
Impairments had to last for a significant period of time, and conditions of short duration were considered insufficient to constitute a disability.   

Under Amendments Act
Under the Act, an impairment that is episodic or in remission is considered a disability if it substantially limits a major life activity when active.

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The new law emphasizes that the definition of “disability” should be interpreted broadly. Impairments that are transitory or minor (that is, with an actual or expected duration of six months or less) won’t qualify for “regarded as” protection. If an employee has an impairment that when active would substantially limit a major life activity, then he or she is disabled and protected under the new ADA, even when the condition is in remission or when not suffering from an episode. This might include diseases such as Multiple Sclerosis, Lupus, Epilepsy or a seizure disorder. The EEOC is working on new rules to meet the new ADA definitions.