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eNewsletter - June 20, 2008
Americans with Disabilities Act and the recovery community
Congress is moving quickly to strengthen protections provided by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) for people with disabilities, including people in recovery from addiction to alcohol and other drugs.
These efforts have emerged in response to a number of court decisions that have defined "disability" under the ADA very narrowly. This court interpretation of what constitutes a disability has resulted in many people being denied ADA protection against discrimination in employment, housing and other areas, including people in treatment or otherwise in recovery from addiction to alcohol and other drugs. In addition to members of the disability community who have expressed concern about these adverse court decisions, chief Congressional sponsors of the original law have complained that the courts have misinterpreted Congress's intention of providing broad protections for people with disabilities through the ADA. To that end, the "ADA Restoration Act," a bill seeking to better capture Congressional intent, was introduced in 2007 in both the House and the Senate. However, the legislation didn't have broad support, particularly in the business community.
Over the past couple of months, a small number of groups from the disability community have met with members of the business community in an attempt to come to agreement about language that could clarify the definition of "disability" under the ADA and better reflect Congress's original intent. These groups recently came to an agreement and released proposed language for review by a broader range of organizations in both the disability and business communities. Many organizations in the disability community have endorsed the revised version of the ADA Restoration Act.
The Legal Action Center (LAC) analyzed the language in this proposed deal over the last few weeks, examining its impact on people in recovery from addiction. LAC determined that the language in the agreement would strengthen protections for people with disabilities, including those in recovery, under the ADA.
Congress is reviewing the proposed deal. In a very important development, two Committees of the House of Representatives, the Education and Labor committee and the Judiciary committee, approved revised versions of the ADA Restoration Act on June 18th. The Judiciary Committee passed the bill unanimously and the Education and Labor Committee passed the bill with just one nay vote. The timing and process for the legislation in the Senate is unclear.
Specifically, the revised ADA Restoration Act:
- Clarifies that a "disability" is defined as a current or past physical or mental impairment, or being regarded as having such an impairment, that substantially limits a major life activity or a major bodily function of an individual
- Requires that courts construe the definition of disability broadly in determining whether an individual should be protected under the ADA
- Includes a broad non-exhaustive list of activities that constitute major life activities, such as caring for oneself, learning, reading, concentrating, thinking, communicating and working
- States that impairments that are episodic or in remission must be considered as disabilities if they would materially restrict a major life activity when the impairment is active
- Prohibits courts, in determining whether an impairment substantially limits a major life activity, from looking at whether the individual has taken measures to mitigate the effects of the impairment
Thanks very much to Legal Action Center (LAC) for this information. LAC strongly supports and endorses the bill because it would provide greater protections for people in recovery.
National Public Radio’s Morning Edition ran a story earlier this week on the proposed bill, “ Revamped Disabilities Rights Bill on Fast Track.”