ADA Amendments Act Passed by House

On June 25, 2008, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill, H.R. 3195, known as the ADA Amendments Act. Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), a disability means a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, a record of such an impairment, or being regarded as having such an impairment. The ADA Amendments Act would amend the ADA by adding examples of major life activities and providing that an individual is regarded as having a disability if he has an actual or perceived physical or mental impairment, whether or not the impairment limits or is perceived to limit a major life activity. This change would expand the coverage of the ADA to a greater number of individuals, as courts have held that to be regarded as disabled, the employer must perceive the employee's impairment as substantially limiting a major life activity. The proposed Act would provide, however, that an individual is not regarded as having a disability if his impairment is minor or transitory, with a transitory impairment defined as having an actual or expected duration of six months.

The U.S. Supreme Court previously held that in determining whether an employee's impairment substantially limits a major life activity, the effect of mitigating measures must be considered. The ADA Amendments Act would effectively overrule this decision by amending the ADA to provide that the determination of whether an impairment substantially limits a major life activity shall be made without regard to the ameliorative effects of mitigating measures. The ADA Amendments Act would add examples of mitigating measures to the ADA but specifically exclude ordinary eyeglasses and contact lenses. This would mean that in determining whether an employee's impairment substantially limits a major life activity, employers could continue to consider the mitigating effects of ordinary eyeglasses and contact lenses.

Employers should keep in mind that the ADA Amendments Act has not yet been passed by the U.S. Senate or signed into law by the President. Until and unless it is passed into law employers should continue to follow the ADA as it presently exists.