FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FOR INFORMATION CONTACT:
DBTAC National Network of ADA Centers
1-800-949-2432
PUBLIC COMMENT INVITED ON PROPOSED CHANGES TO ADA REGULATIONS
The public has been given 60 days to comment on proposed
revisions to regulations implementing the Americans with Disabilities Act of
1990 (ADA), as amended by the ADA Amendments Act of 2008. The regulatory
changes, contained in a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking just announced by the
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), focuses on providing
individuals seeking protection against employment discrimination under Title
I of the ADA with a more expansive definition of "disability."
The ADA is an antidiscrimination statute passed by Congress and signed into
law by the President in July 1990. The EEOC is responsible for enforcing
Title I of the ADA, which prohibits employment discrimination against
individuals with disabilities. The ADA requires employers to make
reasonable accommodations to employees and job applicants with disabilities.
"We encourage the public to contact us with suggestions, recommendations or
comments, or submit them directly to the EEOC" said Susanne Bruyere,
director of the Region II Disability and Business Technical Assistance
Center, part of the National Network of ADA Centers. "People with
disabilities will be the winners when the new regulations are fully
implemented and extensive public comment will ensure they are the best that
they can be."
The ADA Amendments Act, which went into effect Jan. 1, 2009, and the
regulatory revisions embedded in the proposed rule now available for public
comment, make it easier for an individual alleging employment discrimination
based on disability to establish that he or she meets the ADA's definitions
of "disability." The ADA Amendments Act also modifies the Rehabilitation
Act of 1973, which prohibits employment discrimination in the federal
workforce on the basis of disability.
The regulatory changes in the proposed rule emphasize that the definition of
disability-an impairment that poses a substantial limitation in a major life
activity-must 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.
The regulatory changes expand major life activities to include "major bodily
functions, and clarify that mitigating measures, such as medications and
devices that people use to reduce or eliminate the effects of impairment,
are not to be considered when determining whether a person has a disability.
They also clarify that impairments that are episodic or in remission, such
as epilepsy, cancer, and many kinds of psychiatric impairments, are
disabilities if they would "substantially limit" major life activities when
active.
Finally, the regulation revisions provide a more straightforward way of
demonstrating a substantial limitation in the major life activity of
working, and implements the ADA Amendment Act's new standard for determining
whether someone is regarded as having a disability.
The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking containing the regulatory
changes is posted on the EEOC website, www.eeoc.gov <http://www.eeoc.gov/> ,
along with a question-and-answer guide about the proposal and instructions
for submitting public comments to the Commission. Comments may also be
provided to Larry Featherston at the Region II DBTAC - Northeast ADA Center,
[email protected].
--###--
----------------------------------------------------------
Erin M. Sember, M.A.
ADA Technical Assistance Specialist
Disability & Business Technical Assistance Center- Northeast
Employment and Disability Institute
203 Dolgen Hall/ILR Extension
Cornell University
Ithaca, NY. 14853
fax: 607-255-2763
ADA Technical Assistance: 1-800-949-4232 in NY,NJ,PR,VI
ADA Technical Assistance by e-mail: [email protected]
<http://www.dbtacnortheast.org> www.dbtacnortheast.org
"Disability is not a "brave struggle" or "courage in the face of adversity"
.disability is an art. It's an ingenious way to live."
-Neil Marcus
