Frank Morris, a Member of the Firm in the Litigation and Employee Benefits practices, in the Washington, DC, office, and Susan Gross Sholinsky, a Member of the Firm in the Labor and Employment practice, in the New York office, co-wrote an article titled "EEOC's Disabilities Guidance Updates Coincides with the APA's Manual of Mental Disorders Update and the AMA's Recognition of Obesity as a Disability - What Does This All Mean?"

Following is an excerpt:

On May 15, 2013, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ("EEOC") updated its prior guidance regarding cancer, diabetes, epilepsy, and intellectual disabilities, so as to clarify employers' obligations under the Americans with Disabilities Act ("ADA"). According to the EEOC, this updated guidance ("Guidance") is meant to incorporate changes made to the definition of "disability" by the ADA Amendments Act of 2008, which, in part, broadened the definition of "disability" and clarified that individuals with these impairments are, indeed, "disabled." In a press release regarding the Guidance, the EEOC stated that an update was required because of the frequent questions posed by employers about how the ADA applies to individuals with these disabilities. Interestingly, the EEOC also removed a statement from the Guidance that previously denied that simple obesity (without any accompanying or underlying medical condition(s)) could be considered a disability.

Jump to Page

Privacy Preference Center

When you visit any website, it may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. This information might be about you, your preferences or your device and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to. The information does not usually directly identify you, but it can give you a more personalized web experience. Because we respect your right to privacy, you can choose not to allow some types of cookies. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings. However, blocking some types of cookies may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer.

Strictly Necessary Cookies

These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work. These cookies do not store any personally identifiable information.

Performance Cookies

These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we will not know when you have visited our site, and will not be able to monitor its performance.