Abstract
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) states that an individual is disabled when that person has a physical or mental impairment that places a significant limitation on one or more major life activities. Within “interpretative guidelines,” both the EEOC and Department of Justice had indicated that the evaluation of the effects of an impairment should be made without regard to any mitigating measures the person might be utilizing. In June 1999, the United States Supreme Court (Sutton v. United Air Lines) affirmed a decision by the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals. The Tenth Circuit (discounting the guidelines of the above-mentioned agencies) had ruled that an impairment must be evaluated with regard to any “mitigating measures” used to lessen its impact on major life activities. This paper examines subsequent court decisions and the effect Sutton has demonstrated.
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