Trainer: ADA Amendments Act restored broader protections courts must apply

Julie Ballinger explained the history and practical effect of the ADA Amendments Act, telling attendees that Congress enacted the Amendments Act to reverse multiple Supreme Court decisions that had narrowed the ADA’s coverage. As she put it, the Amendments Act “was enacted in on September 25 and became effective in in January 2009,” and its intent was to restore the original broad coverage of the statute so courts focus on whether entities complied with ADA obligations rather than narrowly parsing impairments.

Ballinger said the Amendments Act broadened the scope of covered disabilities (including episodic conditions and many bodily functions) and directs courts to use a case-by-case analysis that favors expansive coverage. She urged court staff to treat the Act’s rules of construction — individual assessment, not counting most mitigating measures, and treating substantially limits broadly — as the guiding framework when considering accommodation claims.