Proposed Regulations Under ADA Amendments Act

Proposed Regulations Under ADA Amendments Act

The ADA Amendments Act of 2008 (ADAAA), which took effect on January 1, 2009, substantially broadens the scope of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). As Congress noted in the ADAAA, the amendments were enacted to provide for “broad coverage of individuals under this Act, to the maximum extent permitted by” the ADA. A more detailed explanation of the ADAAA can be accessed using the following link: The ADA Amendments Act of 2008.

At the time of the Act’s passage, Congress directed the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency responsible for enforcing the ADA, to amend the current ADA regulations to reflect the changes made by the ADAAA. On September 23, 2009, the EEOC issued its proposed regulations for comment by the public. The comment period has ended and the EEOC now is in the process of drafting the final regulations. The EEOC recently announced that it intends to publish the final ADAAA regulations by July 2010. The proposed regulations can be found at the following link: Proposed ADAAA Regulations.

Although not in final form, the proposed regulations provide some insight into how the EEOC interprets the revisions implemented by Congress in the ADAAA. The focus of the new regulations has shifted from determining whether an individual is disabled to whether the employer properly engaged in the “interactive process” required by the ADA. In addition, the proposed regulations define the term “substantially limits” by noting that “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.” As part of this common-sense approach, the proposed regulations include examples of common impairments broken down in three categories: (1) impairments that consistently will meet the definition of disability; (2) impairments that may be disabling for some individuals but not for others; and (3) impairments that usually are not disabilities.

After reviewing the public comments, the EEOC will issue the final regulations. At that time we will provide a detailed examination of the regulations and their impact on employers.