On March 25, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission issued regulations and interpretive guidance regarding the amendments to the Americans with Disabilities Act. The Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act of 2008 became effective Jan. 1, 2009, (yes, it took awhile to get the regulations promulgated). To paraphrase Bob Dylan, the rules, they are a-changing, and employers must change with them. Sinking like a stone is not an option.
Here is a warning: The words of the law have not changed, but their meaning has changed. A disability is still described as a mental or physical impairment that substantially limits a major life activity. But now a “major life activity” expansively covers activities such as “reaching” and “interacting with others” (I never thought being a curmudgeon was a protected characteristic).
