Disability Law Outline
I. Introduction
A. Those who became disabled before age 21 are considered to be developmentally disabled, because the disability has affected them during the time when many important basic skills are normally developed
B. About one in five Americans has some disability – approximately 43 million Americans according to the legislative history of the Americans with Disabilities Act
1. About 7.5% of the population have a severe disability
2. In 2000, approximately 19 percent of Americans had some degree of disability
C. Buck v. Bell, Supreme Court of the United States, 1927
1. Survival of the fittest through natural selection
a. Those who are not fit to survive will not survive
2. People began to think that if there are undesirables around us, let’s get rid of them
a. Easiest way to do this is to kill them
b. Sterilization is another alternative
D. City of Cleburne v. Cleburne Living Center, Supreme Court of the United States, 1985
1. People with disabilities are not a protected class under this case
2. The history of the discrimination of people with disabilities is included in the record
a. Necessity of a record to document the problem
E. If we don’t kill people with disabilities, what do we do?
1. Institutionalize them
a. Serves the same goals because it keeps them away from other people
2. Shut down the institutions and create programs to write them a check
3. Fix them through rehabilitation
4. Mainstreaming and protection
F. Rehabilitation Act of 1973
1. Until 1990, this was the only other major federal statute providing for nondiscrimination on the basis of disability
2. If there’s federal money involved, you cannot discriminate against individuals with disabilities
a. You already spend money to help them so why not make it better for them and cheaper for us?
3. Section 501 deals with any federal entity
4. Section 502 addresses architectural and transportation barriers
5. Section 503 deals with federal contractors
6. Section 504 deals with any entity that receives public funds
7. The Rehab. Act has been amended to more clearly define coverage for individuals with contagious and infectious diseases, to define coverage applicable to individuals who are drug and alcohol users, and to provide that states and state agencies are not immune from suit under the statute
G. Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) of 1986
1. This is essentially a hybrid statute, funding states to provide education for students with disabilities within a framework of substantive and procedural protection, while also creating enforceable rights and individual remedies
2. If you receive federal funds, you must educate all kids
3. All American children are educable
a. There is no single child in the U.S. who cannot benefit from some form of public education
b. Each child with a disability has the right to individualized education placements
4. Mainstream to the extent possible by placing kids in the least restrictive educational environment to receive a free appropriate public education
H. Fair Housing Act of 1988
1. There should be no discrimination in housing based on disability
I. Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990
1. Title I addresses public and private employers
2. Title II addresses state and government programs and agencies
3. Title III addresses public accommodations, which are privately operated facilities opened up to the public
4. Title IV addresses improvements in access to telecommunications
5. Title V includes miscellaneous provisions that relate to coverage of Congress and access in wilderness areas
6. No discrimination à reasonable accommodation à for people with disabilities
7. Associational disability under § 12112(b)(4)
a. Historically there was no protection for people discriminated against based on an associational disability
J. To be entitled to protection under any of the federal statutes, one must meet the definition of disability or handicap, must be otherwise qualified to carry out the fundamental requirements of the program with or without reasonable accommodation, must bring an action within the appropriate statute of limitations, must prove discrimination, and must have been discriminated against by an entity that is covered by the statute in question
K. Definition of Disability à PMI-SL-MLA
1. A physical or mental impairment
a. You have to be able to explain why something legally is a physical or mental impairment
b. More difficult to identify mental impairments than physical impairments
2. That substantially limits
a. Total prevention —— Significantly restricted —— No limitation
i. The EEOC and Congress initially said the line should be drawn at “significant restriction”
§ This was too high of a standard so it was lowered to cover more people with disabilities
§ Legal line somewhere between “significantly restricted” and “no limitation”
b. Substantially limits ahs to mean something
i. If there is total limitation then there is absolutely a disability
ii. If there is no limitation, then there is absolutely no disability
3. A major life activity
a. Mobility à walking, running
b. Work
c. Reading, Thinking, Eating
d. Self-care
e. Communication à talking
4. As we interpret and apply the definition of a disability, we either have to take a narrow or broad approach
L. Alexander v. Choate, Supreme Court of the United States, 1985
1. Tennessee reduced the number of days it will pay as part of its Medicaid program
a. No requirement as to how the state divides the money; however, it must use it to meet the most people’s needs
2. § 504 applies to entities that receive money from the federal government
a. Three things you can’t do under § 504:
i. Exclude them from programs
ii. Deny them benefits offered
iii. Subject them to discrimination
3. Reasonable accommodations and reasonable modifications requirement under § 504
a. Turns on the definition of the word “reasonable”
i. No necessity to fundamentally alter the nature of your program
4. Disparate impact v. disparate treatment
a. Disparate treatment should never be the aim
b. Disparate impact may result
i. Neutral policy or practice that falls more heavily on a protected class
5. A vast majority of people with disabilities do not even fit within the coverage of the act
6. The court holds that the program does not violate § 504 of the Rehabilitation Act
a. The law doesn’t want to make people with disabilities superior
b. We have to make certain changes to the way we do business because we do not know what we have done with transportation, buildings, etc.
7. Because the handicapped have meaningful and equal access to that benefit, Tennessee is not obligated to reinstate its 20-day rule or to provide the handicapped with more than 14 days of inpatient coverage
M. Helen L. v. Didario, 3d Cir. 1995
1. The change in nomenclature from “handicap” to “disability” reflects Congress’ awareness that individuals with disabilities find the term “handicapped” objectionable
2. Because Congress mandated that the ADA regulations be patterned after the section 504 coordination regulations, the former regulations have the force of law
II. Who is Protected Under the Laws?
A. City of Cleburne v. Cleburne Living Center, Supreme Court of the United States, 1985
1. The Supreme Court held that there is no suspect classification for individuals with disabilities
a. To withstand equal protection review, legislation that distinguishes between the mentally retarded and others must be rationally related to a legitimate governmental purpose
2. Nonetheless, the Court found that there was no rational basis for the state law
a. Perpetuation of discrimination due to irrational prejudices, stereotypes, and fears will not be tolerated
B. Heller v. Doe, Supreme Court of the United States, 1993
1. I
g whether the impairment substantially limits a major life activity
2. Major life activities
a. In addition to demonstrating a substantial limitation, the party seeking relief must also demonstrate that the limitation is to a “major life activity”
b. Toyota Motor Manufacturing v. Williams, Supreme Court of the United States, 2002
i. An employee develops carpal tunnel syndrome while working on an assembly line
ii. She says that these impairments substantially limit the major life activities of: manual tasks, gardening, playing with her children, housework, lifting, and working
§ “Substantially limits a major life activity”
· Unable to perform a major life activity that an average person in the general population can perform, or
· Being significantly restricted in the manner, condition, or duration of your participation in the major activity
iii. “Major” = of central importance to a person’s daily life
§ Usually an objective standard, but you make a subjective approach
iv. The major life activity of performing a manual task doesn’t have to be defined in reference to the job, but rather to a person’s life in general
c. Bragdon v. Abbott, Supreme Court of the United States, 1998
i. The basic question is whether HIV infection is a disability under the ADA
§ It already was a physical or mental impairment under § 504 of the Rehabilitation Act
· This is the same standard used in the ADA, FHA, etc.
· IDEA has a different definition of disability because of certain public policy concern
ii. The major life activity has to be of comparative or central importance to a person’s life
§ HIV substantially limits the major life activities of conception, reproduction, and child bearing
§ An adverse risk of 8% is enough to qualify as a substantial limitation
· The risk may not be significant; however, the possibility of that risk itself is enough to deter the average person
iii. HIV is a disability from the moment the virus is contracted
d. The expansion of major life activity narrows the severity of the limitation of the impairment
i. They are inversely related
3. Physical or mental impairment
a. Title I Regs.
i. Physical or mental impairment means:
§ Any physiological disorder, condition, cosmetic disfigurement, or anatomical loss affecting one or more of the following body systems: neurological, musculoskeletal, special sense organs, respiratory, including speech organs, cardiovascular, reproductive, digestive, genitourinary, hemic and lymphatic, skin, and endocrine
b. A minor or short term impairment will not substantially limit a major life activity
i. Courts often give a cut-off of six months or less for short duration
4. In Blackwell v. United States Dep’t of Treasury, the court held that the Rehabilitation Act does not apply to sexual orientation or preference
a. In order to avoid any possibility that such conditions might be given special treatment in the future, however, Congress not only specifically precluded them from coverage under the ADA, but in 1992, the Rehabilitation Act was amended to incorporate similar language
5. Individuals who use controlled substances and/or alcohol present some of the most complex questions
