As many employment lawyers are now well aware, determining what is and what is not a “disability” under the applicable laws can be a litigation minefield. With the enactment of the ADA Amendments Act (ADAAA) on Jan. 1, 2009, there were supposed to be sweeping changes to the way the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was being interpreted. The new law expanded the definition of “disability” in response to the restricted view given to it by the U.S. Supreme Court and other federal courts, which were interpreting the definition too narrowly.
The ADAAA retained the original three-prong definition of disability. Since the original ADA did not specifically define “major life activities,” the ADAAA clarified the term to include specific activities like seeing, hearing, eating, sleeping, walking, standing, lifting, bending, breathing, learning, reading, concentrating, thinking, communicating and working. The ADA was enacted, and eventually amended, to prohibit employment discrimination against people with disabilities that substantially limit one or more of their major life activities, but who, with or without accommodation, can perform the essential functions of the job they hold or desire.
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law are third party online distributors of the broad collection of current and archived versions of ALM's legal news publications. LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law customers are able to access and use ALM's content, including content from the National Law Journal, The American Lawyer, Legaltech News, The New York Law Journal, and Corporate Counsel, as well as other sources of legal information.
For questions call 1-877-256-2472 or contact us at [email protected]
