The Hartford Courant:
What is the impact of the Americans with Disabilities Act amendment that will be signed into law on the first of January? Kelton Research LLC conducted 1,000 online interviews of Americans 18 and older for the Bobby Dodd Institute, an Atlanta nonprofit that assists people with disabilities.
The survey finds that some employers seem to be providing accommodations. A full 38 percent of respondents have people with disabilities as customers; 25 percent, as colleagues; and seven percent, as bosses. However, diversity training has not been given to 67 percent of people, and 40 percent maintain that the workplace is not friendly toward this group.
The amendment being signed into law expands the definition of disabilities. Camille Olson, partner and Labor and Employment Department chairwoman in complex discrimination litigation at the Chicago office of Seyfarth Shaw LLP, says more people will be able to claim a disability.
"For example," she says, "someone who takes medication for a condition must be judged in their unmedicated state. Therefore, even if the individual is perfectly fine [with] medication, they are still considered to be protected if their condition constitutes a disability in its unmitigated state."
Episodic conditions also classify as disabilities.
Attorney Michael McCabe of Dallas' Munck Carter PC, points out that people with prosthetics receive protection, too. The same is true of people using "assisted technology or auxiliary services," according to Ronald Novotny, partner and chairman at Hill Farrer & Burrill LLP in Los Angeles. "However, the courts may still consider the effects of 'ordinary eyeglasses or contact lenses' in deciding whether someone with imperfect vision is disabled under the ADA," he adds.
Olson also mentions that protection over "major life activities" has expanded to "include lifting, bending, sleeping, learning, reading, concentrating, thinking, communicating and working."
Also, the statute specifically says major bodily functions are major life activities, including, for example, immune system, digestion, bowel, bladder and cell growth.
As Dallas' McCabe says, "The hurdles are still there, but the bull's-eye is much bigger. ... It is likely that more people will be able to establish that they suffer from a disability." That's an enormous first step.
Mildred Culp is a columnist who writes about workplace issues.