The U.S. Equal employment Opportunity Commission’s (EEOC) much-anticipated final regulations implementing the Americans with Disabilities Amendments Act of 2008 (ADAAA) were published in the Federal Register on March 25, 2011. The new regulations significantly expand the way the term “disability” is interpreted under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), making it easier for individuals to establish a disability within the meaning of the statute. For employers, the final regulations provide welcome clarification of the ADAAA’s requirements.
The final regulations keep the original ADA definition of the term “disability”: a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities; a record (or past history) of such an impairment; or being regarded as having a disability. However, the regulations contain nine “rules of construction” to use to determine whether an individual is substantially limited in performing a major life activity. These include:
- An impairment does not need to prevent or severely or significantly restrict a major life activity to be considered “substantially limiting.”
- The term “substantially limits” is to be construed broadly, to the maximum extent permitted by the terms of the ADA.
- Mitigating measures other than “ordinary eyeglasses or contact lenses” shall not be considered in assessing whether an individual has a disability.
- An impairment that is episodic or in remission is a disability if it would substantially limit a major life activity when active.
- The term “major life activities” includes “major bodily functions,” such as functions of the immune system, normal cell growth, and brain, neurological, and endocrine functions.
- Under the “regarded as” part of the definition of “disability,” the focus is on how the person was treated rather than on what an employer believes about the nature of the impairment.
- The determination of whether an impairment substantially limits a major life activity requires an individualized assessment, and should not require an extensive analysis.
- The regulations also reference specific examples of impairments that should easily be concluded to be disabilities, such as epilepsy, diabetes, and cancer, and bipolar disorder.
The regulations apply to all private and state and local government employers with 15 or more employees, employment agencies, labor organizations, and joint labor-management committees. The final regulations are effective May 24, 2011.
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