AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT AMENDMENTS ACT OF 2008 €“ ADAAA

Legislation that became effective January 1, 2009 that expands the population that is considered disabled under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act of 2008 was enacted to make it easier for individuals desiring protection under the ADA to establish a disability within the context of the ADA’s guidelines. The amendment upholds the ADA’s definition of a disability as having a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more "major life activities", but adds clarification on what constitutes "major life activities".

The Americans with Disabilities Act was passed in 1990 making discrimination against a disabled person illegal in public accommodations, employment, transportation, communications and government settings. The ADAAA expanded the definition of "major life activities" to include caring for oneself, performing manual tasks, seeing, hearing, eating, sleeping, walking, standing, lifting, bending, speaking, breathing, learning, reading, concentrating, thinking, communicating, working and "major bodily functions" that includes cell growth and functions of the immune, digestive, bladder, bowel, neurological, brain, respiratory, circulatory, endocrine and reproductive functions.