News Release

NCD #02-353
March 8, 2002
Contact: Mark S. Quigley
202-272-2004
202-272-2074 TTY
mquigley@ncd.gov

National Council on Disability Releases Critical Analysis of Supreme Court Decisions on Americans with Disabilities Act

WASHINGTON--The National Council on Disability (NCD) today released Supreme Court Decisions Interpreting the Americans with Disabilities Act (http://www.ncd.gov/newsroom/publications/supremecourt_ada.html), a critical analysis of the Court's recent decisions involving the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

In the last few years, the U.S. Supreme Court has issued a number of decisions that have dramatically changed the way ADA is interpreted; in most cases, contrary to what Congress intended. One decision in particular, Board of Trustees of the University of Alabama v. Garrett, 531 U.S. 356 (2001), devastatingly stripped the right of state workers to sue their employers for money damages for violations of Title I of ADA, which prohibits employment discrimination against people with disabilities. In response, NCD convened a series of meetings with disability policy experts to gain their assessment of the breadth and nature of the impact of Supreme Court decisions on ADA and other key civil rights laws.

This paper provides a summary of the Supreme Court's decisions through its 2000 term involving the ADA and the significant implications of these decisions. It is intended to increase public awareness of ADA as interpreted by the Supreme Court and to give policymakers and ADA stakeholders an overview of ADA issues addressed by the Court, a synopsis of the decisions, and the significant implications of each decision in helping or hindering the implementation of ADA. Finally, the paper is intended to assist in the examination of the work that remains to be done to realize the law's promise.

The Supreme Court will consider several ADA cases in its October Term 2001. The summaries of two of the cases decided to date are provided in Attachment A of the paper, which will be periodically updated to include information about new decisions and their implications. The Court's recent decision in Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky, Inc. v. Williams, for example, took an inordinately restrictive view of what it takes to demonstrate a disability under ADA, thus the paper's analysis of the implications of ADA cases should be read in light of these emerging decisions.

According to NCD chairperson Marca Bristo, "Disability is not the experience of a minority of Americans. Rather, it is an experience that will touch most Americans at some point during their lives. NCD is committed to tearing down the barriers to equality that face many Americans with disabilities. The Supreme Court's interpretations of this historic law have been largely inconsistent with the original intent of Congress and President George H. W. Bush in enacting the law and the desire of the American public. The Supreme Court must not be a roadblock in the promotion of policies that guarantee equal opportunity for all people with disabilities. People with disabilities must be afforded every opportunity to enter the mainstream of American life."