Congress Aims to Restore Anti-Discrimination Act

None by KCPW

(KCPW News) An effort is underway in Congress to restore the Americans with Disabilities Act to its original intent. Disability Law Center executive director Matt Knotts says a series of Supreme Court decisions since 1990 have too narrowly defined the act:

"What we have found is that people with disabilities have to spend an enormous amount of effort to show that in fact they do qualify as a person with a disability," says Knotts.

Knotts says court interpretations of the ADA have created a "catch-22" where people with conditions like epilepsy or diabetes are not considered disabled enough to merit protection under the Act because their disease can be managed with treatment or medication. Knotts says those court cases have shifted the balance of discrimination lawsuits in favor of employers:

"And I think the research indicates that 90 percent of cases where individuals with disabilities have brought action have been decided in favor of the employer," says Knotts.

Measures to restore the Americans with Disabilities Act to its original intent were introduced in both the U.S. House and Senate last week. Utah Representative Jim Matheson is one of 153 co-sponsors in the House pledging their support.

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