Co-authored by Patrick Sherman and Neal Mollen

In an extraordinary act of bi-partisan activism by Congress, President Bush, and business groups, tens of millions of additional Americans have become "disabled within the meaning of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The new legislation, called the ADA Amendments Act of 2008 ("ADAAA), radically expands the ADA, overturns a series of Supreme Court decisions, and imposes on employers significant new obligations.

Although the ADAAA originated with Democrats in Congress and disability rights organizations, it passed with support from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and near-unanimous support from Congressional Republicans, a remarkable demonstration of unanimity for a piece of legislation that will profoundly increase employer responsibilities and make it far more difficult for businesses to defend themselves in the tide of litigation that is certain to follow. Employers should expect more "reasonable accommodation requests, more discrimination charges, and more lawsuits. Human resources professionals and line management, who came with time to understand the scope of employer obligations under the ADA as it previously existed, will have to learn the revised parameters of the statute and implement new procedures to ensure compliance. The Act takes effect on January 1, 2009.


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