The Americans With Disabilities Act (“ADA”) was passed into law in 1990 with the stated purpose of eliminating employment discrimination against individuals on the basis of non-job related disability. In other words, the ADA protects individuals with qualifying disabilities who are able to perform the essential functions of their job with or without a reasonable accommodation. Although Congress concluded in passing the ADA that there were forty-three million Americans with disabilities, federal courts have significantly limited the scope of the ADA by narrowly interpreting the definition of a “disability” under the law. On September 25, 2008, in an effort to restore the ADA’s protections, Congress passed the ADA Amendments Act (“ADA-AA”) of 2008 to specifically address a number of Supreme Court decisions that narrowly interpreted the ADA and drastically restricted the class of workers who can rely on the ADA protections to secure equal employment opportunities. The ADA-AA goes into effect on January 1, 2009.

The ADA is one of the most complex and difficult employment rights for employees to successfully navigate. If you have questions about disability discrimination, call the Pittsburgh employment discrimination firm of Kunkel & Fink, LLP, call 1-800-467-5272 or fill out the contact form on our website.