ADA Amendments Act of 2008

In September 2008, President Bush signed into law the ADA Amendments Act of 2008, which went into effect as of January 1, 2009. When the original ADA was signed into law by the elder President Bush, its purpose was to protect disabled Americans being unfairly excluded from the workplace based on prejudices and assumptions about their ability to adequately perform their jobs. The original ADA defined a disability as a mental or physical impairment that substantially limits a person’s ability to engage in a major life activity. As time passed, the United States Supreme Court came to view what is a “major life activity” through an increasingly narrow lense. The ADA Amendments Act of 2008 is Congress’s response to this increasingly narrow judicial application of the original ADA.

The ADA Amendments Act of 2008 substantially expands the coverage of the ADA. It defines a “major life activity” to include nearly any activity. As of January 1, 2009, a major life activity will include virtually all physical or mental conditions that substantially affect a major bodily function. Abilities such as caring for oneself, performing manual tasks, seeing, hearing, eating, sleeping, walking, standing lifting, bending, speaking, breathing, learning, reading, concentrating, thinking and communicating will all potentially be included within the definition of a “major life activity.” The ADA Amendments Act of 2008 further instructs the courts to construe the term “disabled” broadly to apply to any individual with symptoms described in the ADA. Moreover, disabilities that are episodic, periodic or in remission can now constitute a disability. Also, a very important change instructs the courts to now ignore the ability of the disabled individual to mitigate the symptoms or reactions of a physical or mental limitation. As a result of this change, courts can no longer consider the effect medication can have on aiding an individual’s ability to perform his or her job.

The ADA Amendments Act of 2008 further provides for a broader discrimination standard which can hold an employer liable for discrimination against someone regarded as having a disability, even if they would not otherwise have a physical or mental impairment that limits a major life activity. These changes mean that employers are more likely to face a stark increase in claims filed against them under the ADA.

Under this new Act, employers will need to devote less time to evaluating whether an employee is disabled, and focus more on satisfying their obligation to provide a reasonable accommodation.

In this new environment, it will be crucial for employers, large and small, to understand their newly defined legal obligations to disabled employees in order to ensure a productive workforce and effectively manage their legal risk. Please contact Scott Centrella, head of our employment litigation group, for more detailed information.

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