Supreme Court Issues Opinions in Five Employment Disability Cases
From: Civil Rights Monitor Vol. 10, No. 3 (Summer 1999)
During the 1998-99 term, the Supreme Court heard a record number of cases that addressed various aspects of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Three of the five ADA cases reviewed by the Supreme Court were initiated by workers denied jobs based on their medical condition but whose employers claimed they could not sue under the Americans with Disabilities Act because their impairments were not serious enough for them to be considered disabled. In these three cases, Sutton v. United Airlines, Murphy v. United Parcel Service, and Albertsons v. Kirkingburg, the Justices addressed the definition of "disabled" - the foundation of any ADA claim. The results were criticized by some as creating a "catch-22 situation for many Americans and praised by others as preventing a "trivialization" of the ADA.
The remaining two cases addressed separate issues. In Cleveland v. Policy Management Systems Corp., the Court considered whether an individual who has applied for or received Social Security Disability Insurance can sue under the ADA for disability discrimination. Olmstead v. L.C. addressed a statems responsibility for providing treatment and rehabilitation for the mentally disabled in a community setting, rather than in an institution. The opinion in Cleveland v. Policy Management Systems Corps was issued on May 24 and the other four were handed down on June 22. Background on the Americans with Disabilities Act
The Americans with Disabilities Act, signed into law by then President Bush on July 26, 1990, is the only comprehensive civil rights law specifically designed to protect people with disabilities. The ADA was enacted to eliminate discrimination against people with disabilities by ensuring equal opportunities in: employment, state and local government services and programs, places of public accommodation, public and private transportation and telecommunications. The legislation prohibits discrimination in all employment practices, including job application procedures, hiring, firing, advancement, compensation, training, and other terms, conditions, and privileges of employment. It applies to recruitment, advertising, tenure, layoffs, leave, fringe benefits and all other employment-related activities.
Title I of the ADA specifically addresses issues of employment, barring discrimination against qualified individuals with disabilities in all aspects of employment. The provisions apply to private employers, states and local governments, employment agencies, and labor unions.
Title II of the ADA requires that public entities provide all of their services, including those earmarked solely for individuals with disabilities, in the most integrated setting appropriate to the needs of those individuals. The goal is to integrate individuals with disabilities into the mainstream of society and not to deprive them unnecessarily of the opportunity to participate in all the other services, programs and activities in which the non-disabled participate.
