Disability Discrimination Essay Example for Free

Disability Discrimination stressWould you deem Karina alter nether the ADAAA? If so, what reasonable accommodations would you offer to her?Karina has a medical condition requiring her to take steroids and a nonher(prenominal) medications. This condition led to Karina gaining weight and not able to wear two uniform items, the stockings and heels. These conditions affect her back, circulatory system, and endurance level. Additionally, according to her doctor, Karina mustiness stop wearing the stockings and heels because of her condition. Based on this information, Karina does qualify as disabled even if she does not display symptoms that interfere with her ability to perform her duties. By taking medication, Karina is mitigating (reducing) the effects of her illness. However, her employer cannot trade this information in determining if she has a protected deterioration under the ADAAA. The ADA was passed nearly 20 years ago to provide legal protections for, and to end discri mination against, workers with disabilities. The ADA is a wide-ranging accomplished rights law that prohibits discrimination based on disability.It affords similar protections against discrimination to Americans with disabilities as the Civil Rights interpret of 1964, which make discrimination based on race, religion, sex, national origin, and other characteristics illegal. Under the ADA, an individual is considered to have a disability if that individual either (1) has a physical or mental check which substantially limits one or more of that persons major life activities, (2) has a record of such(prenominal) an impairment, or (3) is regarded by the covered entity as having such an impairment. The determination of whether any particular condition is considered a disability is made on a case by case basis.When the ADA was first passed into law in 1990, federal courts were very unforgiving in determining which employees met the ADAs definition of a disability, resulting in the dis missal of many cases. A series of such court decisions made it increasingly difficult to qualify for the laws protections. To remedy this problem, Congress recently passed the ADA Amendments Act of 2008 (ADAAA), which went into effect on January 1, 2009. The ADAAA made five changes to the ADA that atomic number 18 significant. 1.It provides that the definition of the ADA disability must both be more flexible and broadly construed. 2.It expands the list of major life activities.3.It provides that courts can no longer consider whether mitigating measures, such as medication or assistive technology, reduce the impact of impairment on an individual. 4.It states that diseases that are episodic or in remission may still be disabilities. 5.It provides that employees who claims they are regarded as disabled can now make an ADA claim, even if the perceived disability does not impact a major life activity. It is important that employers be up to speed on these changes. This is curiously imp ortant because the ADAAA created a shift of emphasis in applying the law. In enacting the ADAAA, Congress instructed that it should be interpreted to favor broad coverage of individuals under the ADA, and that courts must focus not on whether an employee is disabled, but on whether the employer is complying with its obligations under the law.