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Disabilities 'Catch-22' Patched

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The Associated Press

Published: September 18, 2008

WASHINGTON - Someone who takes medication to control epilepsy or diabetes could end up in a situation where he or she is no longer eligible for protection under the Americans With Disabilities Act.

It's a "terrible Catch-22," House Education and Labor Committee Chairman George Miller, D-Calif., said Wednesday as the House passed, and sent to the White House, legislation aimed at assuring that the ADA lives up to its promise of protecting the disabled from discrimination.
White House press secretary Dana Perino said the president looks forward to signing the legislation.

The 1990 law is widely regarded as one of the major features of civil rights legislation in the 20th century.

But the Supreme Court has generally exempted from the law's anti-discrimination protections those with partial physical disabilities or impairments that can be treated with medication or devices such as hearing aids.

The bill directs the courts toward a more generous application of the ADA's definition of disability, making it clear that Congress intended the ADA's coverage to be broad and to cover anyone facing discrimination because of a disability.

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