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Full-Text Articles in Law
The Chevron Two-Step And The Toyota Sidestep: Dancing Around The Eeoc's Disability Regulations Under The Ada, Lisa A. Eichhorn
The Chevron Two-Step And The Toyota Sidestep: Dancing Around The Eeoc's Disability Regulations Under The Ada, Lisa A. Eichhorn
Faculty Publications
The definition of "disability" is among the most frequently litigated issues under the Americans with Disabilities Act ("ADA") because the statute protects only individuals with disabilities. The ADA defines a disability, in part, as an impairment that substantially limits a major life activity, and the EEOC has issued a regulation further defining the term "substantially limits" for purposes of the Act's employment-related provisions. Although the EEOC's regulation is the product of a valid rulemaking process and is entitled to a high degree of deference under settled administrative law principles, the Supreme Court, in Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky, Inc. v. Williams, …
Hostile Environment Actions, Title Vii, And The Ada: The Limits Of The Copy-And-Paste Function, Lisa A. Eichhorn
Hostile Environment Actions, Title Vii, And The Ada: The Limits Of The Copy-And-Paste Function, Lisa A. Eichhorn
Faculty Publications
Two federal circuits, borrowing from Title VII jurisprudence, recently recognized a cause of action for a disability-based hostile environment under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Neither opinion, however, considered how the analysis of a disability-based hostile environment claim under the ADA might differ from that of a race- or sex-based hostile environment claim under Title VII. This Article examines the differing theories of equality underlying the two statutes and argues that, because the statutes prohibit discrimination in fundamentally different ways, courts must resist the temptation to copy and paste Title VII doctrine into ADA hostile environment opinions. This Article …
Applying The Ada To Mitigating Measures Cases: A Choice Of Statutory Evils, Lisa A. Eichhorn
Applying The Ada To Mitigating Measures Cases: A Choice Of Statutory Evils, Lisa A. Eichhorn
Faculty Publications
This Article critiques the idea that the ADA should exclude from its coverage people who use mitigating measures, such as medications and medical devices, to alleviate the effects of their mental and physical impairments. After describing the statute as an expansive but flawed tool for combating disability-based discrimination, the Article analyzes a 1999 trilogy of Supreme Court cases holding that in determining whether a person has a disability for purposes of ADA coverage, courts should take account of the ameliorative effects of so-called mitigating measures on the person’s impairments. Through this holding, the Court inappropriately constricted the scope of the …
Major Litigation Activities Regarding Major Life Activities: The Failure Of The Disability Definition In The Americans With Disabilities Act Of 1990, Lisa A. Eichhorn
Major Litigation Activities Regarding Major Life Activities: The Failure Of The Disability Definition In The Americans With Disabilities Act Of 1990, Lisa A. Eichhorn
Faculty Publications
The passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act ("ADA") in 1990 has been praised as the major accomplishment of the disability rights movement. This statute, however, is not without its flaws. Perhaps the most problematic one is the way in which “disability” is defined. Lisa Eichhorn argues that the definition undercuts the effectiveness of the ADA. She begins with a historical look at society’s concepts of disability and discusses how these concepts were incorporated into the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the ADA. She then examines cases that have been dismissed because plaintiffs cannot prove disabled status, which illustrate the …
Reasonable Accommodations And Awkward Compromises: Issues Concerning Learning Disabled Students And Professional Schools In The Law School Context, Lisa A. Eichhorn
Reasonable Accommodations And Awkward Compromises: Issues Concerning Learning Disabled Students And Professional Schools In The Law School Context, Lisa A. Eichhorn
Faculty Publications
Under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, colleges and universities are prohibited from discriminating against qualified students with learning disabilities and must reasonably accommodate such disabilities so that students have a genuine opportunity to complete academic programs successfully. Not surprisingly, just like their non-disabled peers, a number of learning disabled college graduates are choosing to enter professions such as law and medicine. Their entry into professional schools has raised a number of legal issues concerning their qualification to matriculate, their need for accommodations, and their eventual ability to practice successfully. …