EEOC Issues Proposed ADAAA Rules

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued proposed regulations implementing the ADA Amendments Act of 2008 (ADAAA). The ADAAA was a Congressional response to a series of U.S. Supreme Court decisions viewed as narrowing the scope of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by limiting the definition of protected disabled persons. The new law expands and clarifies the definition of who is and who is not disabled.

The proposed rules contain a number of important interpretations of the Americans with ADAAA by the EEOC. These interpretations are important for employers because federal courts generally defer to EEOC regulations when making disability determinations in individual cases.

Some of the important provisions of the new rules include the following:

• A declaration by the EEOC that certain medical conditions will be ADA disabilities in all cases. This appears contrary to the law's requirement for individual impairment assessments.


• Refusal by the EEOC to establish a clear duration requirement for disabilities, bringing into question coverage of short-term impairments such as pregnancy complications.


• Declination by the EEOC of Congress' invitation to clearly establish a definition of significant impairment of a major life activity. These determinations will be left up to individual federal courts.
  

Comments to the proposed rules must be submitted to the EEOC by November 23, 2009. The ADAAA is already in effect, and regardless of any changes to the proposed rules, the new law significantly expands the ADA coverage to persons not considered to be adequately impaired before the legislation's enactment.

Paraphrased from Issue 539, September 25, 2009, EmployNews, Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein