EEOC Releases Proposed ADA Regulations
Friday, October 30, 2009
Contributed by: Andrea L. Slater Gulley
On September 23, 2009, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission released proposed regulations and accompanying interpretive guidance to implement the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”), as amended. Comments to the proposed regulations must be submitted on or before November 23, 2009. The proposed regulations are available online, at http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2009/pdf/E9-22840.pdf .
Highlights of the Proposed ADA Regulations:
- § 1630.1(c)(4): “The definition of disability… shall be construed broadly, to the maximum extent permitted by the terms of the ADA.”
- § 1630.2(j)(2)(i): The “focus should be on whether discrimination occurred, not on whether an individual meets the definition of ‘disability’… the term ‘substantially limits,’ including the application of that term to the major life activity of the working, shall be construed in favor of broad coverage of individuals to the maximum extent permitted by the terms of the ADA and should not require extensive analysis.”
- § 1630.2(j)(2)(iv): “The comparison of an individual’s limitation to the ability of most people in the general population often may be made using a common-sense standard, without resorting to scientific or medical evidence.”
- § 1630.2(j)(2)(vi): “In determining whether an individual has a disability, the focus is on how a major life activity is substantially limited, not on what an individual can do in spite of an impairment.”
- § 1630.2(5)(i): Some types of impairments will consistently meet the definition of disability. These examples include: deafness; blindness; intellectual disability (formerly termed mental retardation); partially or completely missing limbs; mobility impairments requiring the use of a wheelchair; autism; cancer; diabetes; epilepsy; HIV or AIDS; multiple sclerosis or muscular dystrophy; major depression; bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder; obsessive compulsive disorder; and schizophrenia. (List not exhaustive.)
To learn more about the new ADA and its proposed regulations, please attend the Underwood Law Firm’s Employment Law Seminar, “It’s a Jungle Out There,” on November 13, 2009. Registration information can be found here.
