On March 25, 2011, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued its final revised Americans with Disabilities Act regulations, implementing the changes brought about by the ADA Amendments Act of 2008 (the ADAAA). The final regulations become effective on May 24, 2011.
Like the ADAAA, the final regulations retain the basic definition of "disability" as an impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, a record of such an impairment, or being regarded as having such an impairment. However, the final regulation modifies the terms underlying the definition – "impairment," "major life activities," "substantially limits," etc. – in favor of "broad coverage to the maximum extent permitted by the terms of the ADA as amended." Furthermore, the stated goal of the final regulations (like that of the ADAAA) is to limit "extensive analysis" into whether an individual has a disability, and instead focus on whether employers have "complied with their obligations and whether discrimination has occurred."
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