Human Resources Executive Online reports that employee and employer interests are close to proposing mutually agreeable language to Congress that would resolve objections to the ADA Restoration Act of 2007 (H.R. 3195, S. 1881).   Introduced by Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD) and Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA), the ADA Restoration Act seeks to amend the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 by adding definitions and rules of construction that permit greater opportunities for recovery than exist under current judicial interpretations.  Some of the proposed compromises reported by HRE Online will still effectively reverse some of the U.S. Supreme Court decisions which gave rise to this bill.  According to the report, the proposed modified bill:

 

• States that mitigating measures should not be considered when determining whether an impairment materially restricts an individual's major life activity, including medical devices, assistive technology, behavior adaptations, reasonable accommodation or auxiliary aids. This would reverse the ruling in the Sutton vs. United Airlines decision by the U.S. Supreme Court that "mitigating measures" should be taken into account when determining whether a plaintiff is disabled.
• Excludes minor impairments and impairments with an actual or expected duration of six months or less as disabilities.
• States that employers would not need to provide reasonable accommodations to employees they regard as disabled.
• Includes a section with examples of major life activities such as caring for oneself, seeing, hearing, eating, sleeping, walking, standing, lifting, bending, speaking, breathing, learning, reading, concentrating, thinking, communicating and working. The high court, in Toyota vs. Williams, ruled a disability must "substantially limit [an individual's] daily life activities," not just abilities at work. The case involved the inability of an assembly worker with carpal tunnel syndrome to do her job.

Employers must follow developments closely, as consensus seems to be developing in support of the legislation.  The American Association for People with Disabilities (AAPD) has confirmed the status of these talks and that at least twenty-nine advocacy organizations have signed onto the proposal.  In addition, last month, members of Congress received a letter from numerous faith-based organizations of all denominations and another from 21 veterans' groups urging the bill's passage.  Rep. Hoyer hopes to bring the legislation to the floor sometime later this summer.