Evolving Definition

• The original definition prescribed in the 1990 law has since been modified, due to the 1999 Supreme Court Case of Sutton v. United Airlines. The main finding in that case was that "the determination of whether an individual is disabled should be made with reference to measures that mitigate the individual's impairment." So-called "mitigating measures" refer to means by which an individual's disability could be corrected (naturally or artificially). In the case of Sutton, the alleged disability was vision impairment and the mitigating measure was a pair of eyeglasses.
  
  

Current Definition

• The current working definition of "disability" under the ADA is as follows: "a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities of such individual," "a record of such an impairment," and "being regarded as having such an impairment." "Major life activities" involves such things as self-care, basic bodily functions, seeing, walking, and communicating.
  
  

Examples

• Examples of what constitutes a disability for the purposes of the ADA include paralysis, blindness, deafness, anatomical loss, a diabetic, or a cancer patient. The particular application of the law to these disabilities depends, however, on the nature of each individual's job.
  
  

"Reasonable Accommodation"

• Defining "reasonable accommodation" is an important part of the law because it stipulates that employers must make such reasonable accommodations to a worker's disability if it doesn't constitute an "undue burden." Such accommodations help ensure the disabled enjoy equal opportunities under the law. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission names such examples of reasonable accommodation as a blind employee who can be read bulletin board information or a diabetic patient who must take medically related breaks.