The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 was introduced to prohibit discrimination against people with disabilities in the workplace, in public services and in telecommunications. It is similar in its intent to the Civil Rights Act which attempted to end discrimination based on race, religion, or gender. In 2008, after a number of court cases which seemed to weaken the original law, Congress passed an updated version, which was signed in September by the president and took effect on Jan. 1, 2009. The updated version is known as the ADA Amendment Act of 2008, or ADAAA.
Reversing Current Court Trends
By issuing a broader definition of what it means to be legally disabled, the new legislation voids many of the previous court cases. Under the previous version of the bill, courts typically viewed a disability as a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one, but often more than one, major life activity. It was up to the employee to submit evidence that the disability had an extremely high level of impairment to be considered “disabled” in court cases. Mitigating factors which can control the condition, such as medicine, needed to be considered and the severity of the disability were factors in determining discrimination under the previous ADA.
The ADAAA also allows transitory disabilities to be covered as long as during the active phase it would be considered as a disability and lasts longer than six months. In addition, the definition of special accommodations has been broadened to include equipment that would be necessary for an employee to function at work. However, it still does not include items such as reading glasses.
Changes for Employers
One way this affects employers is that more employees may be considered disabled under the new law. One web site which produces training manuals for human resource managers, Business and Legal Reports, lists some actions that will need to be taken to ensure workplaces are compliant with the new law. Among them are revising policies and complaint procedures, revising procedures for responding to requests for accommodations, revising medical certification forms, and training supervisors on the new laws.
New York State already has legislation that is similar to the new ADAAA. Under the current Human Rights Law, the definition of a disabled individual is similar. There should be no new changes that concern businesses with employees in New York State. Any difference in the laws would come from court decisions that occur due to employees with disability claims.
The actual text of the 2008 ADAAA.
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