North Dakota Protection & Advocacy Project
News: October, 2008
American with Disabilities Amendments Act of 2008
On September 25, 2008, the President signed the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act of 2008, officially rejecting Supreme Court decisions that reduced protections for certain people with disabilities under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990. Disability rights, civil rights, and employer groups worked together to propose language that eventually became part of the Act, which made it easier for both chambers of Congress to vote favorably on the Act. The House passed its version of the bill overwhelmingly (402-17) on June 25. On September 11, the U.S. Senate passed the ADA Amendments Act of 2008 (Act) on a voice vote.
The ADA prohibits discrimination against Americans with physical and mental disabilities in such areas as employment, public accommodations, and transportation. The ADA is widely regarded as one of the major features of civil rights legislation in the 20th century because it ensures that the disabled have access to public buildings and accommodations, thus giving them better access to the workforce. The Act retains the ADA's basic definition of "disability" as an impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, a record of such an impairment, or being regarded as having such an impairment. However, it changes the way that these statutory terms should be interpreted in several ways. Most significantly, the Act:
- expands the definition of "major life activities" by including two non-exhaustive lists:
- the first list includes many activities previously recognized (e.g., walking) as well as activities 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);
- states that mitigating measures other than "ordinary eyeglasses or contact lenses" shall not be considered in assessing whether an individual has a disability";
- clarifies that an impairment that is episodic or in remission is a disability if it would substantially limit a major life activity when active;
- provides that an individual subjected to an action prohibited by the ADA (e.g., failure to hire) because of an actual or perceived impairment will meet the "regarded as" definition of disability, unless the impairment is transitory and minor;
- provides that individuals covered only under the "regarded as" prong are not entitled to reasonable accommodation; and
- emphasizes that the definition of "disability" should be interpreted broadly.
The ADA Amendments Act is effective as of January 1, 2009.
