Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA Amendments Act)

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June 24, 2008 -- The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA Amendments Act) will be voted on tomorrow. Call your U.S. Representative and ask for their support today. Take action now.

"The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA Amendments Act) of 2008, which is intended to restore the Act to its original intent and ensure that Americans with disabilities, including chronic illnesses like diabetes, are protected from discrimination, was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives' Education and Labor Committee last week, on June 18, 2008, by a vote of 43-1. The House Judiciary Committee heard testimony and passed the bill out of Committee on a unanimous favorable vote!

We expect the House to vote on the ADA Amendments Act (formerly called the ADA Restoration Act) tomorrow and we need your support to make sure this bill passes."

Take Action

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Stephen Orr was a pharmacist at a Wal-Mart store in Chadron, Nebraska until he was fired for taking lunch breaks to eat and manage his diabetes. After Stephen lost his job, he decided to challenge his firing and filed a claim against Wal-Mart under the Americans With Disabilities Act.  Wal-Mart responded that Stephen did not have a “disability” because he was able to manage his diabetes with insulin and diet.   The courts agreed.  Because the Supreme Court has directed courts to consider “mitigating measures” (such as medications, prosthetics, diet and exercise, or any other treatment) in deciding whether an individual has a disability, the courts found that Stephen did so well managing his condition that he was not disabled enough to be protected by the ADA.  Wal-Mart’s refusal to allow Stephen to take a lunch break was never questioned. 

What you can do:  Take Action Visit the Advocacy Action Center. Read our latest Press Release ADA Chair of the Board's Support Letter

When the Americans with Disabilities Act was passed in 1990, it was clear that Congress intended to protect people with diabetes  - like Stephen Orr - and other chronic diseases from discrimination. However, a series of Supreme Court decisions have narrowed who is covered so that many people with serious chronic diseases – including many people with diabetes – have found they are no longer protected by this law.

The stakes are huge: If a person with diabetes is not covered by anti-disability discrimination law then it is perfectly legal to fire or refuse to hire that person explicitly because of his or her diabetes. Ironically, the better a person does in managing his or her diabetes, the less likely that person is to be protected from discrimination. A Catch 22 has developed where employers are allowed to say a person with diabetes is "too disabled" to do the job, but not "disabled enough" to be protected by the laws. The case is thrown out and the individual is never given the chance to prove he or she can do the job.

In response, the American Diabetes Association and other disability rights organizations strongly support Congressional legislation that will restore the law to its original intent. "The Americans with Disabilities Restoration Act" - introduced on July 26, 2007 with bipartisan support - would ensure that those originally intended to be protected from discrimination are indeed protected.

To learn more about Americans with Disabilities Act Restoration: 

• Read about people with diabetes who have been told they aren't protected from employment discrimination in Effect of Sutton on People with Diabetes.(PDF)
• Learn more about the legal issues involved and examples of people with a variety of disabilities who have been harmed in Failing to Fulfill the Americans With Disabilities Act’s Promise and Intent: The Work of the Courts in Narrowing Protection Against Discrimination on the Basis of Disability from the Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities.
• Visit the Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities Website.
• Introductory Statements from ADA Restoration Bill's Authors