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Multiple Choice

What did the ADA Amendments Act of 2008 accomplish?

The main idea is that the ADA Amendments Act of 2008 changed disability protections by broadening how disability is defined and interpreted, undoing earlier narrowing decisions. The Act explicitly reversed court decisions that had narrowed who qualifies as disabled, notably cases like Sutton v. United Airlines and Toyota Motor Manufacturing v. Williams, and it directs courts to interpret disability more broadly. It rejects the idea that an impairment must be extremely severe or that mitigating measures (such as medications or devices) must be ignored when determining disability. It also covers episodic or in remission conditions and includes a wide range of major life activities and bodily functions. The result is that more people fall under the protections of the ADA, not fewer. So the best answer is that the Act overturned two Supreme Court decisions and broadened the scope of who is protected. It didn’t tighten restrictions, introduce new architectural design standards, or apply only to employment rights.

The main idea is that the ADA Amendments Act of 2008 changed disability protections by broadening how disability is defined and interpreted, undoing earlier narrowing decisions. The Act explicitly reversed court decisions that had narrowed who qualifies as disabled, notably cases like Sutton v. United Airlines and Toyota Motor Manufacturing v. Williams, and it directs courts to interpret disability more broadly. It rejects the idea that an impairment must be extremely severe or that mitigating measures (such as medications or devices) must be ignored when determining disability. It also covers episodic or in remission conditions and includes a wide range of major life activities and bodily functions. The result is that more people fall under the protections of the ADA, not fewer. So the best answer is that the Act overturned two Supreme Court decisions and broadened the scope of who is protected. It didn’t tighten restrictions, introduce new architectural design standards, or apply only to employment rights.