[Tektalkdiscussion] Fw: Congress passes new ADA legislation.

[Bob Acosta]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: Bob Acosta 
To: Bob Acosta 
Sent: Sunday, September 21, 2008 8:14 AM
Subject: Congress passes new ADA legislation.


            Congress Passes Bill With Protections for Disabled
>
> By ROBERT PEAR
> New York Times, September 18, 2008
>
> WASHINGTON - Congress gave final approval on Wednesday to a major civil
> rights bill, expanding protections for people with disabilities and
> overturning several recent Supreme Court decisions.
>
> The voice vote in the House, following Senate passage by unanimous consent
> last week, clears the bill for President Bush. The White House said Mr. 
> Bush
> would sign the bill, just as his father signed the original Americans With
> Disabilities Act in 1990.
>
> The bill expands the definition of disability and makes it easier for
> workers to prove discrimination. It explicitly rejects the strict 
> standards
> used by the Supreme Court to determine who is disabled.
>
> The bill declares that the court went wrong by "eliminating protection for
> many individuals whom Congress intended to protect" under the 1990 law.
>
> "The Supreme Court misconstrued our intent," said Representative Steny H.
> Hoyer of Maryland, the House Democratic leader. "Our intent was to be
> inclusive."
>
> In an effort to clarify the intent of Congress, the bill says, "The
> definition of disability in this act shall be construed in favor of broad
> coverage."
>
> Representative F. James Sensenbrenner Jr. of Wisconsin, the principal
> Republican sponsor in the House, said, "Courts have focused too heavily on
> whether individuals are covered by the law, rather than on whether
> discrimination occurred."
>
> Bills passed with overwhelming support are often insignificant or
> noncontroversial, but that was not true for this bill. "This is one of the
> most important pieces of civil rights legislation of our time," said
> Representative Jim Langevin, Democrat of Rhode Island, who uses a
> wheelchair.
>
> Disagreements over the bill were worked out in two years of intense
> behind-the-scenes negotiations that included members of both parties and
> people with disabilities, as well as the National Association of
> Manufacturers and the United States Chamber of Commerce.
>
> LeAnne Wilson, chief operating officer of the association, said the bill
> would help "meet the work force needs" of employers. Lawrence Z. Lorber, a
> labor law specialist who represents employers, said the bill would change
> the outcome of "a slew of cases that were thrown out of court in the 
> past."
> Now, he said, "employees who have cancer or diabetes or learning
> disabilities will get their day in court and are more likely to get
> accommodations from employers."
>
> Lawmakers said that people with epilepsy, diabetes, cancer, multiple
> sclerosis and other ailments had been improperly denied protection because
> their conditions could be controlled by medications or other measures. In 
> a
> Texas case, for example, a federal judge said a worker with epilepsy was 
> not
> disabled because he was taking medications that reduced his seizures.
>
> In deciding whether a person is disabled, the bill says, courts should not
> consider the effects of "mitigating measures" like prescription drugs,
> hearing aids and artificial limbs. Moreover, it says, "an impairment that 
> is
> episodic or in remission is a disability if it would substantially limit a
> major life activity when active."
>
> Senator Tom Harkin , Democrat of Iowa, the chief sponsor of the bill, 
> said:
> "The Supreme Court decisions have led to a supreme absurdity, a Catch-22
> situation. The more successful a person is at coping with a disability, 
> the
> more likely it is the court will find that they are no longer disabled and
> therefore no longer covered under the A.D.A."
>
> Senator Orrin G. Hatch , Republican of Utah, said the bill, by 
> establishing
> more generous coverage and protection, "will make a real difference in the
> lives of real people." 
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