Which of these people would you describe as having a disability: 1) a former athlete with occasional, but severe, back pain; 2) a college graduate with dyslexia; or 3) a forty year old middle manager who just can’t fall asleep at night without taking something “to help him wind down.” According to recent amendments to the Americans with Disabilities Act (the "ADA"), all of them may be properly classified as disabled.

On January 1, 2009, the “ADA Amendments Act of 2008” (the “Act”) became effective. The Act was intended to “restore the intent and protections of the ADA.” In addition to clarifying the types of conditions and individuals covered by the ADA, the Act also significantly expanded the types of disabilities covered by the ADA’s protective scope. For example, the Act confirmed that the impairment of several enumerated “major life activities” gives rise to ADA coverage. These major life activities include, “caring for oneself, performing manual tasks, seeing, hearing, eating, sleeping, walking, standing, lifting, bending, speaking, breathing, learning, reading, concentrating, thinking, communicating and working.” See 42 U.S.C.A. §12102(2)(A). Previously, covered major life activities were described by either Equal Employment Opportunity Commission regulations or local jurisprudence. As a result, there were stark contrasts between jurisdictions as to the nature and extent of the ADA’s coverage.

Additionally, the extent to which major life activities must be limited in order to ensure ADA coverage has been reduced. Previously, the Supreme Court’s ruling in West Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky, Inc. v. Williams, 534 U.S. 184, 122 S. Ct. 681 (2002), required a plaintiff to prove that they were significantly restricted in their ability to perform the relevant major life activity. This strict standard has been repudiated by the Act in favor of an interpretation supplied by the Supreme Court in School Board of Nassau County v. Arline, where the Court held that an impairment serious enough to require hospitalization is sufficient to establish a “record of impairment” sufficient to establish a covered disability.

Additionally, the Act was revised to confirm that, with the exception of eyeglasses and contact lenses, corrective and mitigating measures intended to allow an otherwise disabled person to perform major life activities shall not be considered in order to determine the presence of a disability.

Finally, the Act includes several revisions that will likely make it easier for plaintiffs to prove they are disabled, including confirming that episodic disabilities are covered by the ADA and that mental impairments are covered by the ADA.