Major Amendments to Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
February, 2009
A recent article in The Industrial-Organizational Psychologist (TIP), a publication of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, discusses the major amendments to the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.
In "Understanding the ADA Amendments Act of 2008 (ADAAA): Back to the Future?", authors Eric Dunleavy, DCI Consulting, and Arthur Gutman, Florida Institute of Technology, identify four amendments in the ADAAA as "critical changes that will enable ADA plaintiffs to more easily overcome the hurdle of proving they are disabled within the meaning of the ADA." Although the authors speculate that there will be an increase in the number of ADA claims as a result of the amendments, they do not believe the claims will be easier to win because, "demonstrating/refuting qualification and reasonable accommodations usually aren’t light burdens."
How will the new ADAAA amendments affect I-O psychologists? Per Dunleavy and Gutman, "I-O psychologists in employment and educational testing settings should be ready to reconsider their accommodation policies given that more and different disabilities will require accommodation, both in selection processes and on the job. Having standardized internal policies that allow for quick and reasonable responses to disabled applicants will be an important factor in determining essential qualifications and developing reasonable accommodations."
The full article [pdf] can be found on the SIOP website. |