Cancer in Remission is Disability under the ADAAA
In holding that an employee with cancer in remission is “disabled” under the expanded definition of “disability” in the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act (“ADAAA”), a federal court has signaled a major change in the way courts have considered cases involving diseases that are in remission. The case is among the first in the nation to interpret the extent to which the Act broadens the scope of the conditions that may qualify as a “disability.” Specifically, the court addressed that portion of the ADAAA that defines “disability” to include “an impairment that is episodic or in remission is a disability if it would substantially limit a major life activity when active.”