In a series of rulings beginning in 1999, the U.S. Supreme Court narrowed the definition of who is protected under the ADA. The court held that workers with disabilities who are able to mitigate their impairments, such as by wearing hearing aids or taking medication, should not be considered disabled. In such cases, these workers would have no remedy under the law when they are discriminated against on the basis of disability. In other words, an employer could fire or refuse to hire a fully qualified worker simply on the basis of a physical or mental impairment, while contending in court that the worker is not “disabled enough” to qualify for protection under the law.

The ADA Amendments Act will reverse these court decisions and restore the original Congressional intent of the Americans with Disabilities Act by:

• Prohibiting the consideration of measures that reduce or mitigate the impact of impairment – such as medication, prosthetics, and assistive technology – in determining whether an individual has a disability.
  
• Covering workers whose employers discriminate against them based on a perception that the worker is impaired, regardless of whether the worker has a disability.
  
• Making it clear that the Americans with Disabilities Act provides broad coverage to protect anyone who faces discrimination on the basis of disability.

A similar House bill, H.R. 3195, introduced by Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) and Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R-WI), passed the House in June.

 “The Americans with Disabilities Act guaranteed that workers with disabilities would be judged on their merits and not on an employer’s prejudices. But, court rulings since the law’s enactment have dramatically limited the ability of people with disabilities to seek justice under the law.  Today we make it absolutely clear that the Americans with Disabilities Act protects anyone who faces discrimination on the basis of a disability.”  -- Chairman George Miller

“This victory today will restore the commonsense, meaningful definition of disability and overturn the Supreme Court’s misinterpretation of our Congressional intent.” -- Rep. Rob Andrews, chairman of the Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor and Pensions
 

“Our two ally nations should work together to help Colombia improve its labor laws, decrease the ongoing violence, and finally put an end to the impunity enjoyed by those who have perpetrated thousands of anti-labor killings,” Chairman Miller wrote. “These challenges have taken on heightened significance this year as the violence in Colombia has escalated over 2007 levels.”

According to the Escuela Nacional Sindical, an independent Colombian think-tank, nearly 2,700 Colombian union leaders or union members have been murdered since 1986.  The overwhelming majority of these killings remain uninvestigated by the Colombian Attorney General’s Office.  In addition, ENS statistics show that so far this year, more union leaders have been assassinated than during all of 2007.

Last year Congress approved $39 million to assist the Colombian government in improving the rule of law and human rights. This funding included $5 million for Colombian prosecutors to address the backlog of murder investigations. However, the Bush administration has delayed the distribution of these funds.

“Many members of Congress are very disappointed that the Bush administration has not transferred the funds that we appropriated last year to the Colombian Attorney General’s Office,” said Chairman Miller. “If the Bush administration had not created these inexplicable delays, the Government of Colombia could have already hired even more investigators and prosecutors, and Colombia might by now be several steps closer to creating an effective and sustainable system of justice to address the grave problem of anti-labor violence.” 

Chairman Miller traveled to Bogotá earlier this year to meet with Colombian government officials, judges, prosecutors, human rights advocates and labor union leaders. Since then the committee’s staff have continued to conduct additional fact-finding on Colombia’s efforts to improve its judicial system and the need for further labor law reforms.

“One advantage stemming from our Congress’ decision to postpone the vote regarding the proposed Colombia Free Trade Agreement is that it has given my colleagues and me additional time needed to assess whether or not Colombia has in fact created an effective and sustainable system of justice to combat anti-labor violence,” wrote Chairman Miller. “I hope that this ongoing fact-finding work will allow Congress to provide helpful recommendations to the next administration in the United States over how we can further strengthen our nation’s relationship with Colombia in such a way that promotes increased trade and higher labor standards.”  

Congress delayed the consideration of the Colombian Free Trade Agreement in April.

This action comes a year after the House addressed another discriminatory pay issue with the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act.  The House approved that measure last year to rectify a Supreme Court decision that made it harder for workers to pursue pay discrimination claims.

 

“This is a historic day in the fight for equal rights for women. If we are serious about closing the gender pay gap, we must get serious about punishing those who would otherwise scoff at the weak sanctions under current law.  Any wage gap based on gender is unacceptable, especially during these tough economic times. By allowing wage discrimination to continue, we hold down women and their families while harming the American economy as a whole.” -- Chairman George Miller

“It’s completely unacceptable that women continue to be discriminated against in the workplace, receiving a fraction of the pay of men.  We must confront such discrimination head on and ensure that all Americans, regardless of gender, receive an equal paycheck for equal pay for equal work.” -- Rep. Lynn Woolsey, chairwoman of the Subcommittee on Workforce Protections