Cancer Is Disability Under ADAAA

Jon Hyman has an excellent post on the effect of the Americans with Disabilities Amendments Act (ADAAA) on many types of illnesses and diseases, cancer in particular. His post includes a summary of one of the first cases decided under the ADAAA. Before the ADA was amended, if an employee’s cancer was in remission, there was probably no disability. This conclusion was based on decisions by the U.S. Supreme Court, which were overturned by the ADAAA.

I suspect that most people have no quarrel with cancer being a disability, whether it’s in remission or not. As Jon notes, however, the effect of the ADAAA is to make nearly all medical conditions disabilities. I think a whole lot of people would quarrel about that. No matter, the ADAAA says what it says, and Jon has some good advice for employers on how to deal with our new disability world.

I don’t know how mosst courts will eventually interpret the ADAAA. It’s a sure bet that cancer and other serious diseases will be disabilities. If it’s also true that any medical condition is a disability under the ADAAA, then wow! Even before the ADA was amended, I cautioned clients to be slow to fire an employee who had cancer. Most, if not all, of us have been impacted by that dreaded disease. Regardless of what the law says, a jury will likely despise any employer who takes adverse action against someone with cancer.