Activists Promote Restoration of Americans with Disabilities Act
Feature Story by Adriana Schubmehl - 1/23/2008
At a January 8 briefing hosted by the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, advocates and legal experts spoke on the need for Congress to pass the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Restoration Act of 2007 to reinstate "a clear and comprehensive prohibition of discrimination on the basis of disability."
Congress passed the Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990 with the intention of preventing unfair treatment toward people with current, past, or perceived disabilities, defined as "physical or mental impairments that substantially limit a major life activity."
However, over the past 17 years, advocates say that the Supreme Court has weakened the ADA's effectiveness by enforcing an unduly narrow interpretation of this definition. Under current rulings, a plaintiff must prove that he or she is "disabled enough" to be protected by the ADA before the courts will hear the discrimination claim. This has allowed courts to dismiss cases, such as Sutton v. United Airlines, by arguing that the plaintiffs' conditions do not constitute disabilities.
Chai Feldblum, a Professor of Law and the Director of the Federal Legislation Clinic at Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, DC, says that the ADA Restoration Act will re-establish coverage of individuals whom Congress originally intended to protect from discrimination by amending the definition of the term "disability."
This change would help ensure that the courts focus on the alleged employer discrimination, rather than on whether an individual can meet the rigorous standards to qualify as "disabled."
While some members of the business community worry that this more inclusive definition will lead to a surplus of frivolous discrimination lawsuits, lawyer Joseph Sellers, head of the Civil Rights and Employment practice group at Cohen, Milstein, Hausfeld & Toll, says that the burden still rests on the plaintiff, who must prove both that he/she qualifies for a job and that he/she was discriminated against because of a disability.
Along with 238 cosponsors, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D. Md., and Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner, R. Wis., introduced the ADA Restoration Act into the House on July 26, 2007, where it has received wide bipartisan support. Activists hope that a House vote, which may occur as early as late January or early February, will encourage the Senate to pass the bill quickly.
