News / Resources

Public Safety Labor News: Disability Act Amendments to Take Effect January 1, 2009

Cleveland partner Todd Lebowitz authored an article, "Disability Act Amendments to Take Effect January 1, 2009," which was published in the November 2008 edition of Public Safety Labor News.

According to Lebowitz, "the ADA Amendments Act (ADAAA) will expand the definition of disability and overturn Supreme Court decisions that had made it more difficult for employees to gain protected status under the Americans with Disabilities Act . . . [it] expands the scope of covered individuals by adding a definition of 'major life activities' that is more inclusive than the interpretation federal courts had given that phrase."

Lebowitz goes on to explain that "the definition of major life activities will now include 'caring for oneself, performing manual tasks, seeing, hearing, eating, sleeping, walking, standing, lifting, bending, speaking, breathing, learning, reading, concentrating, thinking, communicating, and working,' as well as 'major bodily functions.'"

According to Lebowitz, "the effect of this expanded definition is significant. With this change, employees will likely be considered 'disabled' if they have, for example, insomnia (impaired in the major life activity of sleeping), dyslexia (learning), stuttering (speaking), and attention deficit disorder (concentrating). Bending and lifting are now deemed major life activities as well . . . Note that the major life activity affected need not have any relationship to working."

Lebowitz details the new definition, and how it varies from the previous guidelines, noting some important clarifications regarding certain classifications of individuals.

He concludes: "While the changes enacted in the ADAAA undoubtedly expand the scope of individuals covered by the ADA, they do not limit employers' ability to raise defenses, including defenses as to whether a requested accommodation is reasonable. Because of the expanded scope of coverage, however, the ADAAA may result in the defense of ADA cases becoming more difficult and expensive."