News Release

NCD #03-404
March 5, 2003
Contact: Mark S. Quigley
202-272-2004
202-272-2074 TTY
mquigley@ncd.gov

National Council on Disability Examines Flawed Aspects of Americans with Disabilities Act Decisions by Supreme Court

WASHINGTON-The National Council on Disability (NCD) released two policy briefs analyzing and responding to certain flawed aspects of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court-Chevron v. Echazabal: The ADA's "Direct Threat to Self " Defense (2/27), and Reasonable Accommodation After Barnett (3/5) (http://www.ncd.gov/newsroom/publications/03publications.html).

Chevron v. Echazabal: The ADA's "Direct Threat to Self" Defense provides a synopsis with the legal disposition of the case. It also examines the implications of the Court's Chevron decision for ADA law and disability policy and makes recommendations to align the definition of "direct threat" with Congressional intent. The paper also includes a section describing the practical effects of the Chevron decision on Mario Echazabal and its ramifications for other people with disabilities.

Reasonable Accommodation After Barnett examines the implications of the U.S. Airways, Inc., v. Barnett decision, especially in light of prior circuit court decisions on reasonable accommodation, and looks at how subsequent cases are interpreting Barnett. The paper addresses some of the larger issues raised by the case; what happens when the employment and economic goals of the ADA seem to clash with already established economic priorities and expectations; who has the higher "right" to a job when demand is higher than supply? In future papers in this series, NCD will examine various specific substantive aspects of the Court's rulings that have weakened or restricted the impact of the ADA.

NCD plans to address some limitations the Court has imposed on the remedies available in ADA cases and take a cross-issue look at the consequences of the Supreme Court's decisions by contrasting the state of the law before the decisions were rendered with the legal situation after the decisions, to identify undesirable and unjust results in the decisions of the lower courts as a result of the Supreme Court's rulings.

NCD will then develop legislative proposals for addressing those issues that appear appropriate for legislative correction, and present those proposals, along with pertinent supportive material from the previous papers in a final, comprehensive report Righting the ADA.