The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s (EEOC) Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) — which would revise its Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) regulations to comply with the ADA Amendments Act (ADAAA) — is now available at www.HRhero.com/eeoc/eeoc_proposedregulations.pdf.
The NPRM interprets the requirements of the ADAAA, which Congress passed in late 2008 to make it easier for employees and applicants who allege disability discrimination to establish that they are disabled as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act. The NPRM will be published in the Federal Register this week, after which the EEOC will accept the public’s comments on the proposal for a period of 60 days. It’s unclear at this time when final regulations will be issued, but they are unlikely to come before the end of the year.
What the Regulations Say
In a huge departure from the approach taken in the old regulations, the NPRM lists specific types of physical and mental impairments that will “consistently” qualify as disabilities under the ADA, such as deafness, blindness, missing limbs, cancer, cerebral palsy, epilepsy, HIV/AIDS, and severe mental disorders such as bipolar disorder or schizophrenia. In addition, the NPRM:
- clarifies what it means for an impairment to “substantially limit” a major life activity or major bodily function;
- explains how to evaluate impairments when mitigating measures are used;
- lists a number of specific impairments that affect major bodily functions, such as diabetes, cancer, and sickle cell disease;
- lists various types of impairments that may be disabling for some but not for others;
- discusses disabilities that are episodic or in remission, such as epilepsy, cancer, and many kinds of psychiatric impairments;
- provides detailed information regarding the types of actions that will or will not constitute “regarded as” discrimination;
- explains how to determine whether impermanent impairments are disabilities; and
- clarifies how to determine whether an individual is substantially impaired in the major life activity of working.
More Info to Come
Keep an eye on HRhero.com and the monthly State Employment Law Letter newsletters for more detailed analyses of the new proposed regulations.
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