EEOC’s proposed ADA regs provoke comment
From the Wisconsin Law Journal:
The ADAAmendments Act (ADAAA), which went into effect on Jan. 1, 2009,expressly authorized the EEOC to revise its regulations to conform tochanges made by the Act. Simply put, the ADAAA significantly expandsthe ADA, and the EEOC’s proposed regulations are expansive. Some of the proposals include the following:
- Expanding the definition of major life activities.
Theproposed regulations include two non-exhaustive lists of major lifeactivities. The first list includes activities, such as caring foroneself, hearing, seeing, sitting and lifting, whereas the second listincludes major bodily functions, some of which were not originallyincluded by Congress.
- Providing that mitigating measures may no longer be taken into account.
Withthe exception of eyeglasses or contact lenses, the positive effectsfrom an individual’s use of one or more mitigating measures areignored.However, the ADAAA allows consideration of thenegative effects from use of a mitigating measure in determining if adisability exists. For example, the side effects of a medication takento treat a medical condition will be taken into account in determiningwhether or not the underlying condition counts as a disability.
- Providing that conditions which are episodic or in remission may be considered a disability.
Impairmentsthat are episodic or in remission, such as epilepsy, cancer, and manykinds of psychiatric impairments, are disabilities if they would“substantially limit” major life activities when active.