ABSTRACT
This is an uncertain time for disability law in the United States. To understand why this is so, we need to start with a bit of history. In 1990, Congress passed the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which prohibits discrimination (including the failure to accommodate) in employment, public accommodations, and government services. For nearly two decades after that, the courts made rulings that consistently narrowed the scope of the ADA’s mandate. They did this, most obviously, by narrowly interpreting the term “disability,” thereby limiting who could bring a claim under the Act. Responding to this increasing restriction of the ADA, in 2008 Congress passed the ADA Amendments Act (ADAAA). This new act attempts to restore a broader vision of the original ADA by, in particular, expanding the statutory definition of disability (§ 12101). Courts so far have had limited occasions to interpret the revised language. The question now looms as to whether that broader vision will survive the courts.
