How the Americans with Disabilities Amendments Act changed the ADA

12/15/08

President Bush signed the Americans with Disabilities Amendments act on September 25, 2008, making the first changes to the law since it was established in 1990. The Amendments, that go into effect on January 1, 2009, make significant changes to the law and every employer must be prepared to stay in compliance.

What some call a “monumental victory” for people with disabilities, the Amendments supersede several Supreme Court decisions that unfairly limited protections under the original law.

Among other changes, the new ADA clarifies terminology from the original law and broadens parameters to how the law may be interpreted by courts in the future. Every employer and HR professional must understand the changes before they go into effect on the first of the new year.

What is a disability?

The new ADA clearly outlines boundaries for the definition of “disability” that should be interpreted in favor of the most coverage to individuals. Among the changes:

• An impairment may only substantially limit one major life activity and does not need to impede on other major life activities.
• An impairment that is irregular or in remission is still a disability if it limits a major life activity when that individual is “active.”
• A disability is to be determined without regard to specified measures that work to lessen an impairment, including but not limited to: medication, equipment, prosthetics, hearing aids, mobility devices. It does exclude ordinary eyeglasses or contact lenses.
• The new standard for being “regarded as disabled” is wide open, in that someone may be disabled “whether or not the impairment limits or is perceived to limit a major life activity.”

What is a major life activity?

The new ADA explicitly states that the law should not be interpreted strictly and whether someone is disabled or not “should not demand extensive analysis.”

The Act specifically identifies a non-exhaustive list of “major life activities,” including: caring for oneself; bending; performing manual tasks; speaking; seeing; breathing; hearing; learning; eating; reading; sleeping; concentrating; walking; thinking; standing; lifting; communicating; and working.

The ADA changes also broaden the definition of “major life activity” to include the “operation of major bodily functions.” Again, without limitation, these include: functions of the immune system, normal cell growth, and digestive, bowel, bladder, neurological, brain, respiratory, circulatory, endocrine, and reproductive functions.

What didn’t change?

The latest legislation explains that nothing in the act changes standards for determining eligibility for disability benefits under state workers’ compensation laws or under state and federal disability benefit programs.

The requirement to modify policies and procedures remained the same, unless such a modification fundamentally altered the nature of the goods, services, facilities or accommodations involved.

The changes to the ADA under the Amendments Act are extensive and essentially bring the law back to its original intent in 1990. To stay in full compliance, employers and HR professionals must be educated and trained to prepare for the changes before they go into effect.

G.Neil offers a variety of solutions to help employers comply with the new changes to the ADA. For help managing common ADA accommodation requests, we recommend the ComplyRight ADA Administration System. This all-in-one solution contains all the necessary forms, tools and information you need to effectively manage employee requests for reasonable accommodation.