Employee Benefits

Months of speculation came to an end March 24, 2011 when the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued its final amended regulations implementing the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act (ADAAA), which took effect on January 1, 2009.

The EEOC's final regulations, which are effective 60 days from their publication in the Federal Register on March 25, 2011, contain significant changes from the pre-Amendments Act ADA. Consistent with Congress's stated purpose in passing the ADAAA, the new regulations expand the ADA's coverage by lowering the standard for proving disability. Although the new regulations do little to quell employer fears of increased liability under the ADAAA, the EEOC has retreated, at least incrementally, from some of the more controversial positions it took in the proposed regulations.

This article highlights some of the more significant changes effected by the final ADAAA regulations, and their likely impact on employers, noting where the EEOC has pulled back from positions it took in its proposed regulations.

Read the entire article about the final ADAAA regulations.