More employees to qualify as disabled due to changes in ADA - Dayton Business Journal:

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Changes to the ADA, which went into effect Jan. 1, lowerf the threshold of who is disabled to anyoned who has an impairment that substantiallty limits a major life The change means more time may be spent by employersx addressingADA issues. Employee requests for accommodationse couldincrease significantly, and the number of conditionw an employer is required to accommodatew may rise. As such, many employers are working to develop theirfaccommodation processes. Bob Dunlevey, president of local law firm , said some businesseds could take issue with the changes because more peopl e who would not have qualified as disable d willnow count.
For example, if somebodyu had cancer, but it’s in it can still be considereda disability, meaninb an employer might have to go out of its way for a healthh person. Or if a person has high bloos pressure and takes bloodpressurr medicine, he also is disabled, Dunlevey “If you have a hearintg aid and hear better than I do, you are stilpl disabled,” he said. Dunlevey said the changesz could prove to be a problenm for businesses as more peopl e can claim disability and ask for specific measuresa tobe taken.
Terence Lau, an associat e professor of management and marketing atthe , said althoughj the legislation is largely supported by businesses, the amendmenft will likely cause a shift for judgements in favorr of employees rather than employers. “The implicationj here is largely that there will be more employees who willbe disabled,” Lau said. “The litigation and court cases will shift from proving who is disabledc to what you have to do if you have adisableds worker.
” Lau said the change was made for the purpos e of broadening the definition of who is consideresd disabled and removing the burden of proof so courtss would not be focusinf on proving who was disabled beforde the actual case at hand. As the ADA had becomre interpreted, the bar of disabilithy became more difficult for peoplwto reach, and few could provwe they were disabled. Of cases heard before the change, 94 percentr of people filing lawsuits againsr employers under theADA lost. With more peopled now qualifying without extraproof needed, that will likely changed in employees’ favor.
Beyond Lau said not much else has None of the requirements for businesses with disabledr workershave changed, and no one is beiny forced to hire someoner because they are disabled, Lau said. Businessee just have to make necessargy accommodations and not discriminate becausw ofa disability. Only businesses with 15 or more workersxare affected. The Americans with Disability Act was passedr in 1990 to ensurde disabled workers were not beingdiscriminated against, To adaptt to the new employers should adopt clear policies and procedures for employeew to follow when requesting a specifid accommodation, such as a chair or speciak equipment.
They also should look at developin new job descriptions that specifgythe “essential job functions” of any job and reviea internal practices to assure medical matters are kept privatew and policies are up to date for sick family medical leave, vacatioj time and worker’s compensation. Lau said as a the ADA changes have not been controversial and have been supportecdby pro-business lobbying groups. But most are takinfg a wait-and-see approach to learn how the ADA amendment will be interpreted bythe “It’s still very earl y to tell how this will affect Lau said.