More Thoughts on the ADA Amendments Act of 2008
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A client alert on the ADAAA was released today by my firm, Epstein Becker & Green. The alert predicts that the ADAAA will:
expand the coverage of the ADA to many more individuals, even those whose impairments have little or no actual impact on their major life activities due to mitigating measures. It will also substantially ease the burden for ADA plaintiffs. A rise in the number of ADA lawsuits against employers is likely and defending such lawsuits will be more challenging. Employers will necessarily face the duty to engage in the interactive process far more frequently and be forced to assess whether various accommodations are reasonable or if they are undue hardships. This will be particularly true for impairments affecting mental processes including concentrating and thinking.
The alert offers a few points of sound advice to employers on how to comply with the ADAAA:
- To ensure that requests for accommodations are properly handled and to minimize litigation exposure, employers should carefully review their ADA policies and how they handle ADA issues. Make sure that the company's policies are not inconsistent with the new legislation.
- Conduct supervisory training to alert the company's managers about the expanded scope of the ADA under the new legislation.
- Review job descriptions to ensure that they accurately identify all essential job functions. Given the expanded scope of the ADA and the increased number of employees who will be deemed disabled, accurate job descriptions are more critical than ever in evaluating requests for accommodations from disabled employees.
