28 CFR Parts 35 and 36 Amendment of ADA Title II and Title III Regulations To Implement ADA Amendments Act of 2008 - Final Rule

Rules of Construction for Major Life Activities

In the NPRM, proposed §§ 35.108(c)(2) and 36.105(c)(2) set out two specific principles applicable to major life activities: ‘‘[i]n determining other examples of major life activities, the term ‘major’ shall not be interpreted strictly to create a demanding standard for disability,’’ and ‘‘[w]hether an activity is a ‘major life activity’ is not determined by reference to whether it is of ‘central importance to daily life.’ ’’ The proposed language furthered a main purpose of the ADA Amendments Act—to reject the standards enunciated by the Supreme Court in Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky, Inc. v. Williams that (1) strictly interpreted the terms ‘‘substantially’’ and ‘‘major’’ in the definition of ‘‘disability’’ to create a demanding standard for qualifying as disabled under the ADA, and that (2) required an individual to have an impairment that prevents or severely restricts the individual from doing activities that are of central importance to most people’s daily lives to be considered as ‘‘substantially limited’’ in performing a major life activity under the ADA. Public Law 110–325, sec. 2(b)(4).

The Department did not receive any comments objecting to its proposed language. In the final rule, the Department retained these principles but has numbered each principle individually and deemed them ‘‘rules of construction’’ because they are intended to inform the determination of whether a particular activity is a major life activity.