About Diabetes at Work

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The Americans with Disabilities Act and Amendments Act

The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) is a federal law that prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities. Because of the disputed interpretations of this act on the part of courts, the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act (ADAAA) was signed into law September 25, 2008, becoming effective Jan 1, 2009. (1) The ADAAA makes significant changes to the ADA's definition of "disability" that broadens the scope of coverage under both the ADA and Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act.

Title I of the ADA covers employment by private employers with 15 or more employees as well as state and local government employers. The Rehabilitation Act provides similar protections related to federal employment. In addition, most states have their own laws prohibiting employment discrimination on the basis of disability. Some of these state laws may apply to smaller employers and provide protections in addition to those available under the ADA.

When is diabetes a disability under the ADA?

Diabetes is a disability when it substantially limits one or more of a person's major life activities. Major life activities are basic activities that an average person can perform with little or no difficulty. Under the amendments act, major life activities include, but are not limited to, caring for oneself, performing manual tasks, seeing, hearing, eating, sleeping, walking, standing, lifting, bending, speaking, breathing, learning, reading, concentrating, thinking, communicating, and working. Major life activities also include major bodily functions which include, but are not limited to, functions of the immune system, normal cell growth, digestive, bowel, bladder, neurological, brain, respiratory, circulatory, endocrine, and reproductive functions. (2)

Diabetes also is a disability when it causes side effects or complications that substantially limit a major life activity. Even if diabetes is not currently substantially limiting because it is controlled by diet, exercise, oral medication, and/or insulin, and there are no serious side effects, the condition may be a disability because it was substantially limiting in the past (i.e., before it was diagnosed and adequately treated).

Finally, diabetes is a disability when it does not significantly affect a person's everyday activities, but the employer treats the individual as if it does. For example, an employer may assume that a person is totally unable to work because he has diabetes. Under the ADA, the determination of whether an individual has a disability is made on a case-by-case basis.

SOURCES:
1 - The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Notice Concerning the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Amendments Act of 2008. http://www.eeoc.gov/ada/amendments_notice.html (accessed 05/09).

3 - U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. EEOC Fact Sheet: The Americans with Disabilities Act and Diabetes. http://www.eeoc.gov/ (accessed 04/08).

Reviewed by Francine Kaufman, MD. 4/08