On September 25, President Bush signed Public Law 110-325, the ADA Amendments Act of 2008 to restore the intent and protections of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990. Earlier in September, the United States Senate approved, by unanimous consent, the legislation, which was championed by Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA). During the summer, the U.S. House of Representatives passed by a 402-17 margin similar legislation, which was introduced by House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) and Representative James Sensenbrenner (R-WI).
Considered to be one of the landmark civil rights laws of the 20th century, the
The ADA Amendments Act will remedy this problem and restore workplace protections to every American with a disability. The bill leaves the
Following is a section-by-section analysis prepared by the U.S. House of Representatives when it passed its version of the ADA Amendments Act of 2008:
SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS
Sec. 1. Short Title. This Act may be cited as the `ADA Amendments Act of 2008.’
Sec. 2. Findings and Purposes. Acknowledges Congressional intent of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) to `provide a clear and comprehensive national mandate for the elimination of discrimination against individuals with disabilities’ and to provide broad coverage, and that the U.S. Supreme Court subsequently erroneously narrowed the definition of disability in a series of cases. The purposes of the Act are to reinstate a broad scope of protection to be available under the
Sec. 3. Codified Findings. Amends one finding in the ADA to acknowledge that many people with physical or mental impairments have been subjected to discrimination, and strikes one finding related to describing the population of individuals with disabilities as `a discrete and insular minority.’
Sec. 4. Disability Defined and Rules of Construction. Amends the definition of `disability’ and provides rules of construction for applying the definition. The term `disability’ is defined to mean, with respect to an individual, a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, a record of such impairment, or being regarded as having such an impairment. Defines `substantially limits’ as `materially restricts’; provides an illustrative list of `major life activities’ including major bodily functions; and defines `regarded as having such an impairment’ as protecting individuals who have been subject to an action prohibited under the ADA because of an actual or perceived impairment, whether or not the impairment is perceived to limit a major life activity. Requires the definition of disability to be construed broadly. Provides rules of construction regarding the definition of disability, requiring that impairments need only limit one major life activity; clarifying an impairment that is episodic or in remission is a disability if it would substantially limit a major life activity when active; and prohibiting the consideration of the ameliorative effects of mitigating measures such as medication, learned behavioral modifications, or auxiliary aids or services, in determining whether an impairment is substantially limiting, while excluding ordinary eyeglasses and contact lenses.
Sec. 5. Discrimination on the Basis of Disability. Prohibits discrimination under Title I of the
Sec. 6. Rules of Construction. Provides that nothing in this Act alters the standards for determining eligibility for benefits under State worker’s compensation laws or other disability benefit programs. Prohibits reverse discrimination claims by disallowing claims based on the lack of disability. Establishes that entities covered under all three titles of the
