The definition of what constitutes a “disability” under proposed Equal Employment Opportunity Commission revisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act rules will be “interpreted broadly,” according to the agency.
The proposed rules were published Sept. 23 in the Federal Register, and amend regulations and EEOC’s accompanying interpretive guidance in order to implement the ADA Amendments Act of 2008. Comments on the proposed rules are due by Nov. 23.
In addition to broadening the definition of what is a disability, the proposed rules also revise the regulations defining the term ‘‘substantially limits’’ by providing that a limitation need not ‘‘significantly’’ or ‘‘severely’’ restrict a major life activity in order to meet the standard, and by deleting reference to the terms ‘‘condition, manner, or duration’’ under which a major life activity is performed. The proposed rules also expand the definition of ‘‘major life activities’’ through two “non-exhaustive” lists. The first list includes activities such as caring for oneself, performing manual tasks, seeing, hearing, eating, sleeping, walking, standing, sitting, reaching, lifting, bending, speaking, breathing, learning, reading, concentrating, thinking, communicating, interacting with others, and working. The second list includes major bodily functions, such as functions of the immune system, special sense organs, and skin; normal cell growth; and digestive, genitourinary, bowel, bladder, neurological, brain, respiratory, circulatory, cardiovascular, endocrine, hemic, lymphatic, musculoskeletal, and reproductive functions.
Other proposed revisions include: mitigating measures other than ‘‘ordinary eyeglasses or contact lenses’’ shall not be considered in assessing whether an individual has a ‘‘disability”; an impairment that is episodic or in remission is a disability if it would substantially limit a major life activity when active; the definition of ‘‘regarded as’’ is changed so that it no longer requires a showing that the employer perceived the individual to be substantially limited in a major life activity, and instead provides that an applicant or employee who is subjected to an action prohibited by the ADA “(e.g., failure to hire, denial of promotion, or termination) because of an actual or perceived impairment will meet the ‘regarded as’ definition of disability, unless the impairment is both transitory and minor”; actions based on an impairment “include actions based on symptoms of an impairment” (EEOC in particular invites public comment on this point); individuals covered only under the ‘‘regarded as’’ prong are not entitled to reasonable accommodation; qualification standards, employment tests, or other selection criteria based on an individual’s uncorrected vision shall not be used unless shown to be job-related for the position in question and consistent with business necessity.
