On March 25, 2011 the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
(EEOC) belatedly issued its final rule implementing regulations
under the ADA Amendments Act (ADAAA). The new regulations become
effective on May 24, 2011 (60 days from the date of
publication).
While the EEOC did address some of the concerns raised by
employers with the proposed rules, the final rule ultimately hews
close to the ADAAA, which went into effect January 1, 2009. And, in
its changes to the Interpretive Guidance, the EEOC took the
opportunity to repudiate explicitly specific case precedent and
concepts formerly used by employers to defend against claims of
disability discrimination.
The central concept in the ADAAA and the new rules is a
significant expansion of the definition of "disability"
under the law. This expanded definition means that millions more
workers will be covered by the law, and the number of claims of
disability discrimination may be expected to grow. This major
change in
