The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) privately approved its draft final regulations under the ADA Amendments Act (ADAAA). The regulations are being reviewed by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and other federal agencies.

The ADAAA took effect January 1, 2009. The law was intended to restore the ADA’s definition of disability, which had been narrowed through a series of U.S. Supreme Court decisions.

The ADAAA required the EEOC to develop and issue regulations within one year of enactment. The agency published their proposed rules September 23, 2009 in the Federal Register and was followed by a 60 day comment period.

The proposed regulations included several significant changes to the definition of the term “disability” under the ADAAA.

• The definition of disability--an impairment that poses a substantial limitation in a major life activity--must be construed in favor of broad coverage of individuals to the maximum extent permitted by the terms of the ADA, and should not require extensive analysis;
• Major life activities include “major bodily functions”;
• That mitigating measures, such as medications and devices that people use to reduce or eliminate the effects of an impairment, are not to be considered when determining whether someone has a disability; and
• Impairments that are episodic or in remission, such as epilepsy, cancer, and many kinds of psychiatric impairments, are disabilities if they would “substantially limit” major life activities when active.

Because the regulations are not yet public, it remains to be seen whether the final regulations will differ significantly from the proposed regulations published in 2009.

The OMB has up to 90 days to review and comment on the regulations. After OMB approval, the regulations will published in the Federal Register.