The ADA Amendments Act - What Employers Need To Know
Featured Presenter: Gavin S. Appleby, Esq. of Littler Mendelson
Who Will Benefit: About This IAML AudioPro ConferenceSM: Q: What should employers and employees know about the ways in which the ADAAA results in greater coverage? A: Currently, to state a claim under the ADA, an individual must suffer from an impairment that "substantially limits a major life
activity." With the goal of construing the ADA to afford "broad coverage," the ADAAA overturns several Supreme Court decisions holding that an employer may consider
medical mitigating measures (from glasses to medication) that control impairments when determining whether an impairment constitutes a disability. As a result of
this change prohibiting the consideration of mitigating measures, and by way of example, the ADA will now protect individuals whose diabetes is controlled by
insulin or whose depression or bipolar disorder is controlled by anti-depressants. The ADAAA does say that glasses and contact lenses can still be considered
as medical mitigating measures, but nothing else. The ADAAA overturns yet another Supreme Court case by rejecting the definition of "substantially limits" to mean "significantly restricted." The Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) now must revise its regulation with respect to the term "substantially limit" to be consistent with the goal of
broadening, rather than limiting, coverage under the ADA. Even under the ADAAA, however, an individual whose impairment merely limits a major life activity
is not covered. Also consistent with the goal of expanding coverage, the ADAAA added to the list several "major life activities" which a disability may affect including, but not
limited to, eating, sleeping, bending, reading, concentrating, and major bodily functions. Finally, the ADAAA includes in its scope individuals whose impairment is
episodic or in remission if, when active, the impairment would substantially limit a major life activity. Historically, the ADA protected individuals "regarded as" having a disability regardless of whether the individual actually suffered from a disability. The
ADAAA expands coverage yet again in this area by including people who have been discriminated against as a result of a perceived impairment regardless of whether
the perceived impairment limits or is perceived to limit a major life activity. The good news for employers is that there is no duty to accommodate disabilities
that are only perceived. The long and short of these legal changes is that employers are going to have focus much more on reasonable accommodation than they ever have before. Given that
the ADAAA will result in millions of additional employees now being covered by the ADA, analysis of reasonable accommodation questions will be central to an
employer's success in dealing with this revised law. Featured Presenter: Click here to purchase the CD online using a credit card
Employment Law Attorney and popular IAML Instructor
This intermediate level program is for employment law and human resource professionals, ADA coordinators, attorneys, and others who manage or need
to understand the ADA.
On September 25, 2008, President Bush signed into law the ADA Amendments Act of 2008 (ADAAA). The ADAAA, which will become effective on January 1, 2009, clearly
will cause a greater number of employees to be covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). In fact, that is the primary purpose of the ADAAA.
Gavin S. Appleby is a Shareholder with the law firm of Littler Mendelson in Atlanta where he advises and represents employers in a broad course of employment
law matters. His focus ranges from defending single plaintiff and class action employment cases to advising on and litigating wage and hour matters and handling OSHA
issues. He also has significant experience in union avoidance, defending union campaigns, handling arbitrations and mediations, and conducting investigations.
In the course of his career, Mr. Appleby has tried or arbitrated in excess of 150 cases. He has handled over 75 union campaigns, none of which resulted in continuing
union representation at any of the facilities in question. Mr. Appleby provides employers with consulting on human resource practices, including establishing ADR
processes, developing systems for providing better and more effective advice to managers, and instituting programs aimed at early resolution of employment problems.
He is nationally known for his employment law and diversity training, as well as for developing legally-defensible diversity programs. He also is an expert on OFCCP
matters and Title IX compliance. Prior to joining Littler Mendelson he was with Powell, Goldstein and was previously Chief Litigation
Counsel with Kimberly-Clark Corporation. He received his B.A. degree from West Virginia Wesleyan College, magna cum laude and his J.D. degree from the
University of Virginia where he was a member of the national Moot Court Team. Mr. Appleby is a member of the American Bar Association and the
State Bar of Georgia. He lectures extensively throughout the country and has written a number of published articles on employment and labor law issues. He is also
the co-author of a text on pre-employment testing. He has been consistently rated among IAML's top four instructors over the past 14 years.
Click here to purchase the CD by fax (using a credit card) or by mailing a check