The
ADA Amendments Act of 2008 (Public Law 110-325, ADAAA) is a
U.S. lawThe law of the United States consists of many levels of codified and uncodified forms of law, of which the most important is the United States Constitution, the foundation of the federal government of the United States...
, an amendment to the
Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 is the short title of United States , codified at et seq. It was signed into law on July 26, 1990, by President George H. W. Bush, and later amended with changes effective January 1, 2009. The ADA is a wide-ranging civil rights law that prohibits,...
(ADA), effective January 1, 2009. It was intended to provide greater protection to the disabled in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, and was passed in response to decisions by the
Supreme CourtThe Supreme Court of the United States is the highest judicial body in the United States, and leads the federal judiciary. It consists of the Chief Justice of the United States and eight Associate Justices, who are nominated by the President and confirmed with the "advice and consent" of the Senate...
clarifying the original
ADAThe Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 is the short title of United States , codified at et seq. It was signed into law on July 26, 1990, by President George H. W. Bush, and later amended with changes effective January 1, 2009. The ADA is a wide-ranging civil rights law that prohibits,...
which were believed to be averse to the civil liberties of the disabled. It was designed to strike a balance between employer and employee interests.
The ADAAA focuses on the discrimination at issue instead of the individual's disability.
The
ADA Amendments Act of 2008 (Public Law 110-325, ADAAA) is a
U.S. lawThe law of the United States consists of many levels of codified and uncodified forms of law, of which the most important is the United States Constitution, the foundation of the federal government of the United States...
, an amendment to the
Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 is the short title of United States , codified at et seq. It was signed into law on July 26, 1990, by President George H. W. Bush, and later amended with changes effective January 1, 2009. The ADA is a wide-ranging civil rights law that prohibits,...
(ADA), effective January 1, 2009. It was intended to provide greater protection to the disabled in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, and was passed in response to decisions by the
Supreme CourtThe Supreme Court of the United States is the highest judicial body in the United States, and leads the federal judiciary. It consists of the Chief Justice of the United States and eight Associate Justices, who are nominated by the President and confirmed with the "advice and consent" of the Senate...
clarifying the original
ADAThe Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 is the short title of United States , codified at et seq. It was signed into law on July 26, 1990, by President George H. W. Bush, and later amended with changes effective January 1, 2009. The ADA is a wide-ranging civil rights law that prohibits,...
which were believed to be averse to the civil liberties of the disabled. It was designed to strike a balance between employer and employee interests.
The ADAAA focuses on the discrimination at issue instead of the individual's disability. It 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) ADA regulations. 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 the statutory terms should be interpreted.
Reasons for Enactment
The ADA Amendments Act of 2008 was intended to overturn two controversial provisions in the
ADAThe Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 is the short title of United States , codified at et seq. It was signed into law on July 26, 1990, by President George H. W. Bush, and later amended with changes effective January 1, 2009. The ADA is a wide-ranging civil rights law that prohibits,...
. .
The overturned decisions were Sutton v. United Air Lines (130 F.3d 893), which held that potential disabilities were to be evaluated in light of any mitigating medical devices used by the person claiming the disability; and Toyota Motor Mfg., KY, Inc. v. Williams (224 F.3d 840) which held that the original ADA phrase "substantially limited" required plaintiffs claiming a disability prove their disability "prevents or severely restricts the individual from doing activities that are of central importance to most people’s daily lives." This shift from "substantially limited" to "severely restricts" was considered a more onerous standard than previous applied.
This amendment also rejects strict interpretation of the definition of disability, and makes it absolutely clear that the ADA is intended to provide broad coverage to protect anyone who faces discrimination on the basis of disability.
Significant Changes
The Act explicitly overturns two controversial Supreme Court decisions: Sutton v. United Air Lines, and Toyota Motor Mfg., KY, Inc. v. Williams.
It prohibits the consideration of mitigating measures such as medication, prosthetic, and assistive technology, in determining whether an individual has a disability (standard contact lenses and eyeglasses are still considered in assessing disability status). It also covers people who experience discrimination based on a perception of impairment regardless of whether the individual experiences disability, and provides that reasonable accommodations are only required for individuals who can demonstrate they have an impairment that substantially limits a major life activity, or a record of such impairment -- accommodations need not be provided to an individual who is only “regarded as” having an impairment.
In addition, the Act lists
major life activities, rather than leaving that phrase open to interpretation as the ADA of 1990 did. The non-exhaustive list of major life activities in § 4(4)(a) includes caring for oneself, performing manual tasks, seeing, hearing, eating, sleeping, walking, standing, lifting, bending, speaking, breathing, learning, reading, concentrating, thinking, communicating and working. The act also lists
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. so there can be no ambiguity.
A United States Court of Appeals in D.C. held on July 21, 2009 that the Act does not apply retroactively.
The Act was introduced on July 31, 2008; passed the Senate on September 11, 2008; passed the House on September 17, 2008; was signed by the President on September 25, 2008; and took effect on January 1, 2009.
Legislative History
- CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 154 (2008):
- Sept. 11, considered and passed Senate.
- Sept. 17, considered and passed House.
See also
Equal Employment Opportunity CommissionThe U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is a federal agency whose goal is ending employment discrimination. The EEOC investigates discrimination complaints based on an individual's race, color, national origin, religion, sex, age, disability and retaliation for reporting and/or opposing...
(EEOC)
Public Law 110-325 (ADA Amendments Act of 2008)
External links