House Education & Labor Committee Approves Bill to Protect Americans with Disabilities from Discrimination

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

WASHINGTON, DC -- The House Education and Labor Committee approved legislation today to stop discrimination against individuals with disabilities by restoring the original intent of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

By a 43 to 1 vote, the committee approved the ADA Amendments Act (H.R. 3195). The bill will reverse several U.S. Supreme Court decisions that have undermined the Americans with Disabilities Act. Since the law’s enactment in 1990, courts have dramatically reduced the numbers of workers who are protected from employment discrimination under the ADA.

“For nearly two decades, the Americans with Disabilities Act has made it possible for millions of productive, hard-working Americans to participate in our nation’s economy. However, since enactment of this landmark civil rights law, legal protections for millions of Americans with disabilities have been eroded by several erroneous U.S. Supreme Court decisions,” said Rep. George Miller (D-CA), chairman of the committee. “Today we take the first step to make it absolutely clear that the Americans with Disabilities Act protects anyone who faces discrimination on the basis of a disability.”

“The U.S. Supreme Court’s misinterpretation of the Americans with Disabilities Act in 1999 eliminated an essential protection to millions of Americans, exposing them to employment discrimination based on their disability without recourse,” said Rep. Rob Andrews (D-NJ), chairman of the Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor and Pensions. “Today’s passage of H.R. 3195 is a resounding rejection of their decisions and a restoration of Congressional intent.”

In a series of rulings beginning in 1999, the U.S. Supreme Court narrowed the definition of who is protected under the ADA. The court held that workers with disabilities who are able to mitigate their impairments, such as by wearing hearing aids or taking medication, should not be considered disabled. In such cases, these workers would have no remedy under the law when they are discriminated against on the basis of disability. In other words, an employer could fire or refuse to hire a fully qualified worker simply on the basis of a physical or mental impairment, while contending in court that the worker is not “disabled enough” to qualify for protection under the law.

The ADA Amendments Act will reverse these court decisions and restore the original Congressional intent of the Americans with Disabilities Act by:

• Clarifying the definition of disability, including what it means to be “substantially limited in a major life activity.”
• Prohibiting the consideration of measures that reduce or mitigate the impact of impairment – such as medication, prosthetics, and assistive technology – in determining whether an individual has a disability.
• Covering workers whose employers discriminate against them based on a perception that the worker is impaired, regardless of whether the worker has a disability.
• Making it clear that the Americans with Disabilities Act provides broad coverage to protect anyone who faces discrimination on the basis of disability.

For more information on the ADA Amendments Act, click here.

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