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

VI. Relationship of This Regulation to Revisions to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s ADA Title I Regulation Implementing the ADA Amendments Act of 2008

The EEOC is responsible for regulations implementing title I of the ADA addressing employment discrimination based on disability. On March 25, 2011, the EEOC published its final rule revising its title I regulation to implement the revisions to the ADA contained in the ADA Amendments Act. 76 FR 16978 (Mar. 25, 2011).⁴

Because the ADA’s definition of ‘‘disability’’ applies to title I as well as titles II and III of the ADA, the Department has made every effort to ensure that its proposed revisions to the title II and III regulations are consistent with the provisions of the EEOC final rule. Consistency among the title I, title II, and title III rules will promote consistent application of the requirements of the ADA Amendments Act, regardless of the Federal agency responsible for enforcement or the ADA title that is enforced. Further, because most entities subject to either title II or title III are also subject to title I with respect to employment, they should already be familiar with the revisions to the definition of ‘‘disability’’ in the 4-year-old EEOC revised regulation. Differences in language between the title I rules and the Department’s title II and title III rules are noted in the Section-by-Section analysis and are generally attributable to structural differences between the title I rule and the title II and III rules or to the fact that certain sections of the EEOC rule deal with employment-specific issues.