Amendment of Americans With Disabilities Act Title II and Title III Regulations To Implement ADA Amendments Act of 2008, 53203-53243 [2016-17417]

Agencies

• Department of Justice
• Office of the Attorney General

[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 155 (Thursday, August 11, 2016)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 53203-53243]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-17417]



[[Page 53203]]

Vol. 81

Thursday,

No. 155

August 11, 2016

Part II





 Department of Justice





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28 CFR Parts 35 and 36





Amendment of Americans With Disabilities Act Title II and Title III 
Regulations To Implement ADA Amendments Act of 2008; Final Rule

Federal Register / Vol. 81 , No. 155 / Thursday, August 11, 2016 / 
Rules and Regulations

[[Page 53204]]


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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

Office of the Attorney General

28 CFR Parts 35 and 36

[CRT Docket No. 124; AG Order No. 3702-2016]
RIN 1190-AA59


Amendment of Americans With Disabilities Act Title II and Title 
III Regulations To Implement ADA Amendments Act of 2008

AGENCY: Civil Rights Division, Department of Justice.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Justice (Department) is issuing this final 
rule to amend its Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) regulations in 
order to incorporate the statutory changes to the ADA set forth in the 
ADA Amendments Act of 2008 (ADA Amendments Act or the Act), which took 
effect on January 1, 2009. In response to earlier Supreme Court 
decisions that significantly narrowed the application of the definition 
of ``disability'' under the ADA, Congress enacted the ADA Amendments 
Act to restore the understanding that the definition of ``disability'' 
shall be broadly construed and applied without extensive analysis. 
Congress intended that the primary object of attention in cases brought 
under the ADA should be whether covered entities have complied with 
their statutory obligations not to discriminate based on disability. In 
this final rule, the Department is adding new sections to its title II 
and title III ADA regulations to set forth the proper meaning and 
interpretation of the definition of ``disability'' and to make related 
changes required by the ADA Amendments Act in other sections of the 
regulations.

DATES: This rule will take effect October 11, 2016.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rebecca Bond, Section Chief, 
Disability Rights Section, Civil Rights Division, U.S. Department of 
Justice, at (202) 307-0663 (voice or TTY); this is not a toll-free 
number. Information may also be obtained from the Department's toll-
free ADA Information Line at (800) 514-0301 (voice) or (800) 514-0383 
(TTY).
    You may obtain copies of this final rule in an alternative format 
by calling the ADA Information Line at (800) 514-0301 (voice) and (800) 
514-0383 (TTY). This final rule is also available on the ADA Home Page 
at www.ada.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The meaning and interpretation of the 
definitions of ``disability'' in the title II and title III regulations 
are identical, and the preamble will discuss the revisions to both 
regulations concurrently. Because the ADA Amendments Act's revisions to 
the ADA have been codified into the U.S. Code, the final rule 
references the revised U.S. Code provisions except in those cases where 
the reference is to the Findings and Purposes of the ADA Amendments 
Act, in which case the citation is to section 2 of Public Law 110-325, 
September 25, 2008.\1\
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    \1\ The Findings and Purposes of the ADA Amendments Act are also 
referenced in the codification of the ADA as a note to 42 U.S.C. 
12101.
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    This final rule was submitted to the Office of Management and 
Budget's (OMB) Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs for review 
prior to publication in the Federal Register.

I. Executive Summary

Purpose

    This rule is necessary in order to incorporate the ADA Amendments 
Act's changes to titles II (nondiscrimination in State and local 
government services) and III (nondiscrimination by public 
accommodations and commercial facilities) of the ADA into the 
Department's ADA regulations and to provide additional guidance on how 
to apply those changes.

Legal Authority

    The ADA Amendments Act was signed into law by President George W. 
Bush on September 25, 2008, with a statutory effective date of January 
1, 2009. Public Law 110-325, sec. 8, 122 Stat. 3553, 3559 (2008). The 
Act authorizes the Attorney General to issue regulations under title II 
and title III of the ADA to implement sections 3 and 4 of the Act, 
including the rules of construction set forth in section 3. 42 U.S.C. 
12205a.

Summary of Key Provisions of the Act and Rule

    The ADA Amendments Act made important changes to the meaning and 
interpretation of the term ``disability'' in the ADA in order to 
effectuate Congress's intent to restore the broad scope of the ADA by 
making it easier for an individual to establish that he or she has a 
disability. See Public Law 110-325, sec. 2(a)(3)-(7). The Department is 
making several major revisions to the meaning and interpretation of the 
term ``disability'' contained in the title II and title III ADA 
regulations in order to implement the ADA Amendments Act. These 
regulatory revisions are based on specific provisions in the ADA 
Amendments Act or on specific language in the legislative history. The 
revised language clarifies that the term ``disability'' shall be 
interpreted broadly and explains that the primary object of attention 
in cases brought under the ADA should be whether covered entities have 
complied with their obligations not to discriminate based on disability 
and that the question of whether an individual's impairment is a 
disability under the ADA should not demand extensive analysis. The 
revised regulations expand the definition of ``major life activities'' 
by providing a non-exhaustive list of major life activities that 
specifically includes the operation of major bodily functions. The 
revisions also add rules of construction to be applied when determining 
whether an impairment substantially limits a major life activity. These 
rules of construction state the following:

--That the term ``substantially limits'' shall be construed broadly in 
favor of expansive coverage, to the maximum extent permitted by the 
terms of the ADA;
--that an impairment is a disability if it substantially limits the 
ability of an individual to perform a major life activity as compared 
to most people in the general population;
--that the primary issue in a case brought under the ADA should be 
whether an entity covered under the ADA has complied with its 
obligations and whether discrimination has occurred, not the extent to 
which the individual's impairment substantially limits a major life 
activity;
--that in making the individualized assessment required by the ADA, the 
term ``substantially limits'' shall be interpreted and applied to 
require a degree of functional limitation that is lower than the 
standard for ``substantially limits'' applied prior to the ADA 
Amendments Act;
--that the comparison of an individual's performance of a major life 
activity to the performance of the same major life activity by most 
people in the general population usually will not require scientific, 
medical, or statistical evidence;
--that the ameliorative effects of mitigating measures other than 
``ordinary eyeglasses or contact lenses'' shall not be considered in 
assessing whether an individual has a ``disability'';
--that an impairment that is episodic or in remission is a disability 
if it would substantially limit a major life activity when active; and

[[Page 53205]]

--that an impairment that substantially limits one major life activity 
need not substantially limit other major life activities in order to be 
considered a substantially limiting impairment. The final rule also 
states that an individual meets the requirement of ``being regarded as 
having such an impairment'' if the individual establishes that he or 
she has been subjected to a prohibited action because of an actual or 
perceived physical or mental impairment whether or not the impairment 
limits or is perceived to limit a major life activity. It also provides 
that individuals covered only under the ``regarded as'' prong are not 
entitled to reasonable modifications.

    The ADA Amendments Act's revisions to the ADA apply to title I 
(employment), title II (State and local governments), and title III 
(public accommodations) of the ADA. Accordingly, consistent with 
Executive Order 13563's instruction to agencies to coordinate rules 
across agencies and harmonize regulatory requirements, the Department 
has adopted, where appropriate, regulatory language that is identical 
to the revisions to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's 
(EEOC) title I regulations implementing the ADA Amendments Act. See 76 
FR 16978 (Mar. 25, 2011). This will promote consistency in the 
application of the ADA and avoid confusion among entities subject to 
both titles I and II, as well as those subject to both titles I and 
III.

Changes Made From the Proposed Rule

    The final rule retains nearly all of the proposed regulatory text, 
although some sections were reorganized and renumbered. The section-by-
section analysis in appendix C to part 35 and appendix E to part 36 
responds to comments and provides additional interpretive guidance on 
particular provisions. The revisions to the regulatory text, which 
include substantive changes in response to comments, include the 
following:
     Added Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) as 
an example of a physical or mental impairment in Sec. Sec.  
35.108(b)(2) and 36.105(b)(2).
     Added ``writing'' as an example of a major life activity 
in Sec. Sec.  35.108(c) and 36.105(c).
     Revised the discussion of the ``regarded as prong'' in 
Sec. Sec.  35.108(f) and 36.105(f) to clarify that the burden is on a 
covered entity to establish that, objectively, an impairment is 
``transitory and minor'' and therefore not covered by the ADA.
     Modified the rules of construction to make them more 
consistent with the statute and to provide more clarity, including 
Sec. Sec.  35.108(a)(2) and 36.105(a)(2), 35.108(c)(2) and 
36.105(c)(2), and 35.108(d)(1) and 36.105(d)(1).
     Revised or added several provisions to more closely 
conform to the EEOC regulation.

II. Summary of Regulatory Assessment

    As noted above, Congress enacted the ADA Amendments Act in 2008 to 
ensure that persons with disabilities who were denied coverage 
previously under the ADA would again be able to rely on the protections 
of the ADA. As a result, the Department believes that the enactment of 
the law benefits millions of Americans, and that the benefits to many 
of these individuals are non-quantifiable, but nonetheless significant. 
This rule incorporates into the Department's titles II and III 
regulations the changes made by the ADA Amendments Act. In accordance 
with OMB Circular A-4, the Department estimates the costs and benefits 
of this proposed rule using a pre-ADA Amendments Act baseline. Thus, 
the effects that are estimated in this analysis are due to statutory 
mandates that are not under the Department's discretion. The Department 
has determined that the costs of this rule do not reach $100 million in 
any single year, and thus it is not an economically significant rule.
    In the Initial Regulatory Assessment (Initial RA), the analysis 
focused on estimating costs for processing and providing reasonable 
modifications and testing accommodations \2\ to individuals with 
learning disabilities and ADHD \3\ for extra time on exams as a direct 
result of the ADA Amendments Act. Although the Department's analysis 
focused only on these specific costs, the Department recognized that 
the ADA Amendments Act extends coverage to people with the full range 
of disabilities, and the accommodation of those individuals might 
entail some economic costs. After review of the comments, and based on 
the Department's own research, the Department has determined, however, 
that the above-referenced exam costs represent the only category of 
measurable compliance costs that the ADA Amendments Act will impose and 
the Department was able to assess. While other ADA Amendments Act 
compliance costs might also ensue, the Department has not been able to 
specifically identify and measure these potential costs. The Department 
believes, however, that any other potential costs directly resulting 
from the ADA Amendments Act will likely be minimal and have little 
impact on the overall results of this analysis.
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    \2\ For ease of reference for purposes of the discussion of 
costs in the Regulatory Assessment, the Department will use the term 
``accommodations'' to reference the provision of extra time, whether 
it is requested as a reasonable modification pursuant to 28 CFR 
35.130(b)(7) and 28 CFR 36.302, or as a testing accommodation 
(modifications, accommodations, or auxiliary aids and services) 
provided pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 12189 and 28 CFR 36.309. The 
Department wishes to preserve the legal distinction between these 
two terms in its guidance on the requirements of the ADA Amendments 
Act so it will use both terms where appropriate in the Section by 
Section Analysis and Guidance.
    \3\ The Department is using the term ADHD in the same manner as 
it is currently used in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of 
Mental Disorders: Fifth Edition (DSM-5), to refer to three different 
presentations of symptoms: predominantly inattentive (which was 
previously known as ``attention deficit disorder); predominantly 
hyperactive or impulsive; or a combined presentation of inattention 
and hyperactivity-impulsivity. The DSM-5 is the most recent edition 
of a widely-used manual designed to assist clinicians and 
researchers in assessing mental disorders. See Diagnostic and 
Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders: Fifth Edition DSM-5, 
American Psychiatric Association, at 59-66 (2013).
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    The data used to support the estimates in this Final Regulatory 
Assessment (Final RA) focus on (1) the increase in the number of 
postsecondary students or national examination test takers requesting 
and receiving accommodations--specifically, requests for extra time on 
exams--as a result of the changes made to the ADA by the ADA Amendments 
Act; and (2) the actual cost of these additional accommodations, which 
involves costs of providing staff with the training on the changes made 
to the ADA by the ADA Amendments Act, administrative costs to process 
the additional accommodation requests made as a direct result of the 
ADA Amendments Act, and the costs of additional proctor time needed for 
these additional accommodation requests. For both postsecondary 
institutions and national testing entities, costs are broken down into 
three components:
     One-time cost of training staff on relevant impact of ADA 
Amendments Act;
     Annual cost of processing additional accommodation 
requests for extra exam time made as a direct result of the ADA 
Amendments Act; and
     Annual cost of proctoring additional time on exams as a 
direct result of the ADA. Amendments Act.
    Based on the Department's calculations, total costs to society for 
implementing the revisions to the ADA Amendments Act range from $31.4 
million to $47.1 million in the first year. The first year of costs 
will be higher than all subsequent years because the first year 
includes the one-time costs of

[[Page 53206]]

training. Note that even the high end of this first-year cost range is 
well within the $100 million mark that signifies an ``economically 
significant'' regulation. The breakdown of total costs by entity is 
provided in the table below.

                                 Total Costs First Year (2016), Primary Analysis
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                          Cost category                              Low value       Med value      High value
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Postsecondary Institutions: ANNUAL Total Costs of Processing               $12.8           $18.0           $23.1
 Additional Requests and Proctoring Extra Exam Time.............
Postsecondary Institutions: ONE-TIME Cost for Additional                     9.9             9.9             9.9
 Training at Institutions.......................................
National Exams: ANNUAL Total Costs of Processing Additional                  6.8             9.5            12.2
 Requests and Proctoring Extra Exam Time........................
National Exams: ONE-TIME Cost for Additional Training at                     1.9             1.9             1.9
 Institutions...................................................
                                                                 -----------------------------------------------
    Total.......................................................            31.4            39.3            47.1
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Note: Due to rounding, totals may not equate exactly to the product of the inputs provided in the table.

    Taking these costs over the next 10 years and discounting to 
present value terms at a rate of 7 percent, the total costs of 
implementing this final rule are approximately $214.2 million over 10 
years, as shown in the table below.

                                   Total Costs Over 10 Years, Primary Analysis
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                                                    Annualized
      Total discounted value  ($ millions)          estimate ($     Year dollar    Discount rate      Period
                                                     millions)                       (percent)        covered
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$214.2..........................................           $28.6            2015               7       2016-2025
243.6...........................................            26.3            2015               3       2016-2025
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III. Background

    The ADA Amendments Act was signed into law by President George W. 
Bush on September 25, 2008, with a statutory effective date of January 
1, 2009. Public Law 110-325, sec. 8. As with other civil rights laws, 
individuals seeking protection in court under the anti-discrimination 
provisions of the ADA generally must allege and prove that they are 
members of the ``protected class.'' Under the ADA, this typically means 
they have to show that they meet the statutory definition of being an 
``individual with a disability.'' See 154 Cong. Rec. S8840-44 (daily 
ed. Sept. 16, 2008) (Statement of the Managers); see also H.R. Rep. No. 
110-730, pt. 2, at 6 (2008) (House Committee on the Judiciary). 
Congress did not intend, however, for the threshold question of 
disability to be used as a means of excluding individuals from 
coverage. H.R. Rep. No. 110-730, pt. 2, at 5 (2008).
    In the original ADA, Congress defined ``disability'' as (1) a 
physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more 
major life activities of an individual; (2) a record of such an 
impairment; or (3) being regarded as having such an impairment. 42 
U.S.C. 12202(1). Congress patterned this three-part definition of 
``disability''--the ``actual,'' ``record of,'' and ``regarded as'' 
prongs--after the definition of ``handicap'' found in the 
Rehabilitation Act of 1973. See H.R. Rep. No. 110-730, pt. 2, at 6 
(2008). By doing so, Congress intended that the relevant case law 
developed under the Rehabilitation Act would be generally applicable to 
the term ``disability'' as used in the ADA. H.R. Rep. No. 101-485, pt. 
3, at 27 (1990); see also S. Rep. No. 101-116, at 21 (1989); H.R. Rep. 
No. 101-485, pt. 2, at 50 (1990). Congress expected that the definition 
of ``disability'' and related terms, such as ``substantially limits'' 
and ``major life activity,'' would be interpreted under the ADA 
``consistently with how courts had applied the definition of a 
handicapped individual under the Rehabilitation Act''--i.e., 
expansively and in favor of broad coverage. Public Law 110-325, sec. 
2(a)(1)-(8) and (b)(1)-(6); see also 154 Cong. Rec. S8840 (daily ed. 
Sept. 16, 2008) (Statement of the Managers) (``When Congress passed the 
ADA in 1990, it adopted the functional definition of disability from . 
. . Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, in part, because 
after 17 years of development through case law the requirements of the 
definition were well understood. Within this framework, with its 
generous and inclusive definition of disability, courts treated the 
determination of disability as a threshold issue but focused primarily 
on whether unlawful discrimination had occurred.''); H.R. Rep. No. 110-
730, pt. 2, at 6 & n.6 (2008) (noting that courts had interpreted the 
Rehabilitation Act definition ``broadly to include persons with a wide 
range of physical and mental impairments'').
    That expectation was not fulfilled. Public Law 110-325, sec. 
2(a)(3). The holdings of several Supreme Court cases sharply narrowed 
the broad scope of protection Congress originally intended under the 
ADA, thus eliminating protection for many individuals whom Congress 
intended to protect. Id. sec. 2(a)(4)-(7). For example, in Sutton v. 
United Air Lines, Inc., 527 U.S. 471, 482 (1999), the Court ruled that 
whether an impairment substantially limits a major life activity is to 
be determined with reference to the ameliorative effects of mitigating 
measures. In Sutton, the Court also adopted a restrictive reading of 
the meaning of being ``regarded as'' disabled under the ADA's 
definition of ``disability.'' Id. at 489-94. Subsequently, in Toyota 
Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky, Inc. v. Williams, 534 U.S. 184 (2002), 
the Court held that the terms ``substantially'' and ``major'' in the 
definition of ``disability'' ``need to be interpreted strictly to 
create a demanding standard for qualifying as disabled'' under the ADA, 
id. at 197, and that to be substantially limited in performing a major 
life activity under the ADA, ``an individual must have an impairment 
that prevents or severely restricts the individual from doing 
activities that are of central importance to most people's daily 
lives.'' Id. at 198.
    As a result of these Supreme Court decisions, lower courts ruled in 
numerous cases that individuals with a range of substantially limiting 
impairments were not individuals with

[[Page 53207]]

disabilities, and thus not protected by the ADA. See 154 Cong. Rec. 
S8840 (daily ed. Sept. 16, 2008) (Statement of the Managers) (``After 
the Court's decisions in Sutton that impairments must be considered in 
their mitigated state and in Toyota that there must be a demanding 
standard for qualifying as disabled, lower courts more often found that 
an individual's impairment did not constitute a disability. As a 
result, in too many cases, courts would never reach the question 
whether discrimination had occurred.''). Congress concluded that these 
rulings imposed a greater degree of limitation and expressed a higher 
standard than it had originally intended, and unduly precluded many 
individuals from being covered under the ADA. Id. at S8840-41 (``Thus, 
some 18 years later we are faced with a situation in which physical or 
mental impairments that would previously have been found to constitute 
disabilities are not considered disabilities under the Supreme Court's 
narrower standard'' and ``[t]he resulting court decisions contribute to 
a legal environment in which individuals must demonstrate an 
inappropriately high degree of functional limitation in order to be 
protected from discrimination under the ADA.'').
    Consequently, Congress amended the ADA with the Americans with 
Disabilities Act Amendments Act of 2008. This legislation is the 
product of extensive bipartisan efforts, and the culmination of 
collaboration and coordination between legislators and stakeholders, 
including representatives of the disability, business, and education 
communities. See 154 Cong. Rec. H8294-96 (daily ed. Sept. 17, 2008) 
(joint statement of Reps. Steny Hoyer and Jim Sensenbrenner); see also 
154 Cong. Rec. S8840-44 (daily ed. Sept. 16, 2008) (Statement of the 
Managers).
    The ADA Amendments Act modified the ADA by adding a new ``findings 
and purposes'' section focusing exclusively on the restoration of 
Congress's intent in the ADA to broadly interpret the term 
``disability'' to ensure expansive coverage. These new ADA Amendments 
Act-specific findings and purposes are meant to restore a broad scope 
of protection under the ADA by providing clear and enforceable 
standards that support the mandate to eliminate discrimination against 
people with disabilities. The ``purposes'' provisions specifically 
address the Supreme Court decisions that narrowed the interpretation of 
the term ``disability,'' rejecting the Toyota strict interpretation of 
the terms ``major'' and ``substantially;'' the Sutton requirement that 
ameliorative mitigating measures must be considered when evaluating 
whether an impairment substantially limits a major life activity; and 
the narrowing of the third, ``regarded as'' prong of the definition of 
``disability'' in Sutton and School Board of Nassau County v. Arline, 
480 U.S. 273 (1987). In addition, the ADA Amendments Act specifically 
rejects the EEOC's interpretation of ``substantially limited'' as 
meaning ``significantly restricted,'' noting that it is too demanding 
of a standard. See Public Law 110-325 sec. 2(b).
    The findings and purposes section of the ADA Amendments Act ``gives 
clear guidance to the courts and . . . [is] intend[ed] to be applied 
appropriately and consistently.'' 154 Cong. Rec. S8841 (daily ed. Sept. 
16, 2008) (Statement of the Managers). The Department has amended its 
regulations to reflect the ADA Amendments Act, including its findings 
and purposes.

IV. Summary of the ADA Amendments Act of 2008

    The ADA Amendments Act restores the broad application of the ADA by 
revising the ADA's ``Findings and Purposes'' section, expanding the 
statutory language regarding the meaning and interpretation of the 
definition of ``disability,'' providing specific rules of construction 
for interpreting that definition, and expressly superseding the 
standards enunciated by the Supreme Court in Sutton and Toyota and 
their progeny.
    First, the ADA Amendments Act deletes two findings that were in the 
ADA: (1) That ``some 43,000,000 Americans have one or more physical or 
mental disabilities,'' and (2) that ``individuals with disabilities are 
a discrete and insular minority.'' 154 Cong. Rec. S8840 (daily ed. 
Sept. 16, 2008) (Statement of the Managers); see also Public Law 110-
325, sec. 3. As explained in the 2008 Senate Statement of the Managers, 
``[t]he [Supreme] Court treated these findings as limitations on how it 
construed other provisions of the ADA. This conclusion had the effect 
of interfering with previous judicial precedents holding that, like 
other civil rights statutes, the ADA must be construed broadly to 
effectuate its remedial purpose. Deleting these findings removes this 
barrier to construing and applying the definition of disability more 
generously.'' 154 Cong. Rec. S8840 (daily ed. Sept. 16, 2008) 
(Statement of the Managers).
    Second, the ADA as amended clarifies Congress's intent that the 
definition of ``disability'' ``shall be construed in favor of broad 
coverage of individuals under this chapter, to the maximum extent 
permitted by the terms of this chapter.'' 42 U.S.C. 12102(4)(A).
    Third, the ADA as amended provides an expanded definition of what 
may constitute a ``major life activity,'' within the meaning of the 
ADA. 42 U.S.C. 12102(2). The statute provides a non-exhaustive list of 
major life activities and specifically expands the category of major 
life activities to include the operation of major bodily functions. Id.
    Fourth, although the amended statute retains the term 
``substantially limits'' from the original ADA definition, Congress set 
forth rules of construction applicable to the meaning of substantially 
limited that make clear that the term must be interpreted far more 
broadly than in Toyota. 42 U.S.C. 12102(4); see also Public Law 110-
325, sec. 2(b)(5). Congress was specifically concerned that lower 
courts had applied Toyota in a way that ``created an inappropriately 
high level of limitation necessary to obtain coverage under the ADA.'' 
Public Law 110-325, sec. 2(b)(5). Congress sought to convey that ``the 
primary object of attention in cases brought under the ADA should be 
whether entities covered under the ADA have complied with their 
obligations, and to convey that the question of whether an individual's 
impairment is a disability under the ADA should not demand extensive 
analysis.'' Id.
    Fifth, the ADA as amended prohibits consideration of the 
ameliorative effects of mitigating measures such as medication, 
assistive technology, or reasonable modifications when determining 
whether an impairment constitutes a disability. 42 U.S.C. 
12102(4)(E)(i). Congress added this provision to address the Supreme 
Court's holdings that the ameliorative effects of mitigating measures 
must be considered in determining whether an impairment substantially 
limits a major life activity. Public Law 110-325, sec. 2(b)(2). The ADA 
as amended also provides that impairments that are episodic or in 
remission are disabilities if they would substantially limit a major 
life activity when active. 42 U.S.C. 12102(4)(D).
    Sixth, the ADA as amended makes clear that, despite confusion on 
the subject in some court decisions, the ``regarded as'' prong of the 
disability definition does not require the individual to demonstrate 
that he or she has, or is perceived to have, an impairment that 
substantially limits a major life activity. 42 U.S.C. 12102(3). With 
this clarifying language, an individual can once again establish 
coverage under the law by showing that he or she has been subjected to 
an action prohibited under the Act because

[[Page 53208]]

of an actual or perceived physical or mental impairment. The ADA 
Amendments Act also clarifies that entities covered by the ADA are not 
required to provide reasonable modifications to policies, practices, or 
procedures for individuals who fall solely under the regarded as prong. 
42 U.S.C. 12201(h).
    Finally, the ADA as amended gives the Attorney General explicit 
authority to issue regulations implementing the definition of 
``disability.'' 42 U.S.C. 12205a.

V. Background on This Rulemaking and Public Comments Received

    The Department published its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) 
proposing to amend its title II and title III ADA regulations in the 
Federal Register on January 30, 2014. 79 FR 4839 (Jan. 30, 2014). The 
comment period closed on March 31, 2014. The Department received a 
total of 53 comments on the NPRM from organizations representing 
persons with disabilities, organizations representing educational 
institutions and testing entities, individual academics, and other 
private individuals. The Section-by-Section analysis in the appendix to 
this rule addresses the comments related to specific regulatory 
language proposed in the NPRM.
    Many commenters on the NPRM noted the value of the regulation to 
people with disabilities while a number of commenters on the 
Department's NPRM expressed concern that the Department's regulatory 
assessment unduly focused on individuals with learning disabilities who 
sought accommodations in testing or educational situations. These 
commenters asserted that the Department's discussion of the potential 
costs for testing entities or educational entities of complying with 
the ADA Amendments Act and this rule could be misunderstood to mean 
that the Department believed the changes in the definition of 
``disability'' did not have an impact on individuals with other types 
of disabilities.
    As discussed in the regulatory assessment, the Department believes 
that persons with all types of impairments, including, but not limited 
to, those enumerated in Sec. Sec.  35.108(b) and 36.105(b), will 
benefit from the ability to establish coverage under the ADA as 
amended, and will therefore be able to challenge the denial of access 
to goods, services, programs, or benefits based on the existence of a 
disability. The Department's regulatory assessment is not a statement 
about the coverage of the ADA. Rather, it is a discussion of 
identifiable incremental costs that may arise as a result of compliance 
with the ADA Amendments Act and these implementing regulations. As 
explained in the regulatory assessment and under Section VII.A below, 
the Department believes that those costs are limited primarily to the 
context of providing reasonable modifications in higher education and 
testing accommodations by testing entities.

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\
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    \4\ On September 23, 2009, the EEOC published its NPRM in the 
Federal Register proposing revisions to the title I definition of 
``disability.'' See 74 FR 48431. The EEOC received and reviewed more 
than 600 public comments in response to its NRPM. In addition, the 
EEOC and the Department held four joint ``Town Hall Listening 
Sessions'' throughout the United States and heard testimony from 
more than 60 individuals and representatives of the business/
employer industry and the disability advocacy community.
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    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.

VII. Regulatory Process Matters

A. Executive Order 13563 and 12866--Regulatory Planning and Review

    This final rule has been drafted in accordance with Executive Order 
13563 of January 18, 2011, 76 FR 3821, Improving Regulation and 
Regulatory Review, and Executive Order 12866 of September 30, 1993, 58 
FR 51735, Regulatory Planning and Review. Executive Order 13563 directs 
agencies, to the extent permitted by law, to propose or adopt a 
regulation only upon a reasoned determination that its benefits justify 
its costs; tailor the regulation to impose the least burden on society, 
consistent with obtaining the regulatory objectives; and, in choosing 
among alternative regulatory approaches, select those approaches that 
maximize net benefits. Executive Order 13563 recognizes that some 
benefits and costs are difficult to quantify and provides that, where 
appropriate and permitted by law, agencies may consider and discuss 
qualitatively values that are difficult or impossible to quantify, 
including equity, human dignity, fairness, and distributive impacts.
    The Department has determined that this rule is a ``significant 
regulatory action'' as defined by Executive Order 12866, section 3(f). 
The Department has determined, however, that this rule is not an 
economically significant regulatory action, as it will not have an 
annual effect on the economy of $100 million or more or adversely 
affect in a material way the economy, a sector of the economy, 
productivity, competition, jobs, the environment, public health or 
safety, or State, local, or tribal governments or communities. This 
rule has been reviewed by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
pursuant to Executive Orders 12866 and 13563.
Purpose and Need for Rule and Scope of Final Regulatory Assessment
    This rule is necessary in order to incorporate into the 
Department's ADA regulations implementing titles II (nondiscrimination 
in State and local government services) and III (nondiscrimination by 
public accommodations and commercial facilities) the ADA Amendments 
Act's changes to the ADA and to provide additional guidance on how to 
apply those changes. The ADA Amendments Act, which took effect on 
January 1, 2009, was enacted in response to earlier Supreme Court 
decisions that significantly narrowed the application of the definition 
of ``disability'' under the ADA. See Sutton v. United Air

[[Page 53209]]

Lines, Inc., 527 U.S. 471 (1999); Toyota Motor Mfg., Kentucky, Inc. v. 
Williams, 534 U.S. 184 (2002). The ADA Amendments Act clarifies the 
proper interpretation of the term ``disability'' in the ADA and 
fulfills congressional intent to restore the broad scope of the ADA by 
making it easier for individuals to establish that they have a 
disability within the meaning of the statute. See Public Law 110-325, 
sec. 2(a)(3)-(7). The Act authorizes the Attorney General to issue 
regulations under title II and title III of the ADA to implement 
sections 3 and 4 of the Act, including the rules of construction 
presented in section 3. 42 U.S.C. 12205a. The Department is making 
several revisions to the title II and title III ADA regulations that 
are based on specific provisions in the ADA Amendments Act.
    The Department notes that the Supreme Court cases limiting the 
application of the definition of ``disability'' had the most 
significant impact on individuals asserting coverage under title I of 
the ADA with respect to employment. The legislative history of the ADA 
Amendments Act is replete with examples of how individuals with a range 
of disabilities were unable to successfully challenge alleged 
discriminatory actions by employers because courts found that they did 
not qualify as individuals with disabilities under the Supreme Court's 
narrow standards. See, e.g., S. 154 Cong. Rec. S8840-44 (daily ed. 
Sept. 16, 2008) (Statement of the Managers). With respect to titles II 
and III, while the statutory amendments required by the ADA Amendments 
Act affect persons with all types of disabilities and across all titles 
of the ADA, Congress anticipated that the ADA Amendments Act's expanded 
definition would especially impact persons with learning disabilities 
who assert ADA rights in education and testing situations. See H.R. 
Rep. No. 110-730, pt. 1, at 10-11 (2008); see also 154 Cong. Rec. S8842 
(daily ed. Sept. 16, 2008). Congress was concerned about the number of 
individuals with learning disabilities who were denied reasonable 
modifications or testing accommodations (e.g., extra exam time) because 
covered entities claimed these individuals did not have disabilities 
covered by the ADA.
    In the NPRM, the Department requested public comments on whether 
the changes made by the ADA Amendments Act to titles II and III and 
that are addressed in the proposed rule would have benefits or costs in 
areas other than additional time for postsecondary students and 
national examination test takers with ADHD or learning disabilities. 
Those comments and the Department's response are discussed below. The 
Department wishes to stress that, although its economic analysis is 
focused on estimating costs for processing requests and providing extra 
time on exams as a direct result of the ADA Amendments Act, the ADA, as 
amended, extends coverage to individuals with the full range of 
disabilities and affords such individuals the full range of 
nondiscrimination protections under the ADA.\5\ The Department is aware 
that the accommodation of those individuals might entail some economic 
costs; however, it appears that in light of the legislative history and 
the experience of the Department in resolving ADA claims from 1990 to 
the present, the above-referenced exam costs represent the only 
category of measurable compliance costs that the ADA Amendments Act 
will impose and the Department was able to assess. While other ADA 
Amendments Act compliance costs might also ensue, the Department has 
not been able to specifically identify and measure these potential 
costs. The Department believes, however, that any other potential costs 
directly resulting from restoration of coverage to individuals with 
disabilities who assert their rights under other ADA nondiscrimination 
provisions will likely be minimal and have little impact on the overall 
results of this analysis.
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    \5\ A number of commenters on the NPRM expressed concern that 
the Department's focus on the economic impact of the ADA Amendments 
Act with respect to individuals with learning disabilities and in 
the area of education and testing might lead the public to think 
that the Department did not believe the ADA Amendments Act would 
benefit persons with other disabilities or in the full range of 
situations and contexts covered by titles II and III of the ADA.
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Public Comments on Regulatory Assessment and Department Responses
    This section discusses public comments to the Initial RA that 
accompanied the NPRM, as well as changes made to the estimation of 
likely costs of this rule in response to those comments.
    While more than 50 comments were received during the NPRM comment 
period, only a few of those directly addressed the assumptions, data, 
or methodology used in the Initial RA. The Department received comments 
from persons with disabilities, organizations representing educational 
institutions and testing entities, individual academics, and other 
private individuals. The preamble to this final rule provides the 
primary forum for substantive responses to these comments.
General and Recurring Concerns Expressed in Comments
    Many commenters expressed appreciation for the proposed regulation, 
with several noting that the regulation would offer qualitative and 
quantitative benefits. Some of the quantitative benefits noted by 
commenters were a reduction in litigation costs as well as access to 
educational opportunities for persons with disabilities that would 
enhance employment prospects, productivity, and future earnings and 
investments. Qualitative benefits referenced in the comments included 
enhanced personal self-worth and dignity, as well as the values of 
equity, fairness, and full participation. Other commenters expressed 
concern about costs associated with implementation of the regulation.
    The Department reviewed a number of comments suggesting that it 
underestimated the costs that postsecondary schools or national testing 
entities will incur to comply with the ADA Amendments Act. Commenters 
stated that the ADA Amendments Act will lead to a significant increase 
in the number of students seeking accommodations from postsecondary 
schools, which will lead to substantially increased direct costs (e.g., 
the costs of providing additional exam time and other accommodations to 
students with disabilities) and indirect costs (e.g., the costs of 
processing these requests, complaints to the Office for Civil Rights at 
the U.S. Department of Education, and lawsuits). Commenters further 
stated that the Department overlooked the costs that postsecondary 
schools will incur in providing accommodations other than additional 
exam time, such as tutors, note takers, auxiliary aids, e-books, etc. 
These commenters suggested that postsecondary schools will need to hire 
additional staff to manage the additional administrative burden that 
the ADA Amendments Act imposes.
    Those comments and as well as other related comments, are 
specifically addressed below. But, as a threshold matter, the 
Department believes that the concerns predicated on the assumption of a 
significant rise in students seeking accommodations due to changes 
brought about by the ADA Amendments Act are overstated. One of the 
primary purposes of the ADA Amendments Act was to restore ADA coverage 
to a subset of individuals with disabilities who lost ADA protection as 
a result of a series of

[[Page 53210]]

Supreme Court decisions dating back to 1999.
    While the Department recognizes that there has been an increase in 
the number of students with disabilities requesting accommodations at 
postsecondary institutions, much of this increase is likely not 
attributable to the passage of the ADA Amendments Act. Commenters and 
existing data suggest that, for the most part, increases in the number 
of students with disabilities attending college and seeking 
accommodations are likely related to the following factors:
     There are more diagnoses of disabilities in children 
overall since 1997; \6\
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    \6\ Coleen A. Boyle, et al., Trends in the Prevalence of 
Developmental Disabilities in US Children, 1997-2008, 127 Pediatrics 
1034 (2011), available at https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/pediatrics/early/2011/05/19/peds.2010-2989.full.pdf (last 
visited April 22, 2016); see also Matt Krupnick, Colleges respond to 
growing ranks of learning disabled, The Hechinger Report (Feb. 13, 
2014), available at https://hechingerreport.org/colleges-respond-to-growing-ranks-of-learning-disabled/ (last visited Feb. 3, 2016).
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     More students are attending college generally; \7\
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    \7\ U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education 
Statistics, Fast Facts: Enrollment, available at https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=98 (last visited Feb. 3, 2016).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

     Other laws such as the Individuals with Disabilities 
Education Act (IDEA) and section 504 are causing students with 
disabilities to be identified more widely and at a younger age; \8\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \8\ See Stephen B. Thomas, College Students and Disability Law, 
33 J. Special Ed. 248 (2000), available at https://www.ldonline.org/article/6082/ (last visited Apr. 22, 2016).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

     The stigma of identifying as a person with a disability 
appears to have diminished since the passage of the ADA in 1990;
     Diagnoses of autism spectrum disorders among children have 
increased significantly since 1997, perhaps as a result of improved 
diagnostic tools and protocols; \9\ and
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \9\ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Prevalence of 
Autism Spectrum Disorder Among Children Aged 8 Years--Autism and 
Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network, 11 Sites, United 
States, 2010, MMWR 2014; 63 (SS-02), available at https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/pdf/ss/ss6302.pdf (last visited April 22, 2016).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

     Postsecondary schools have improved their ability to 
accommodate students with disabilities, thus encouraging more students 
to seek such accommodations, and empowering students with disabilities 
to enroll in college and remain enrolled there.\10\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \10\ See Justin Pope, Students with Autism, Other Disabilities 
Have More College Options Than Ever Before, Huff Post Impact, 
available at https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/16/autism-college-options_n_3934583.html (Sept. 16, 2013) (last visited Feb. 
3, 2016).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Most of the students affected by the ADA Amendments Act are 
students whose impairments did not clearly meet the definition of 
``disability'' under the ADA after the series of Supreme Court 
decisions beginning in 1999 reduced the scope of that coverage. For 
instance, under the narrowed scope of coverage, some individuals with 
learning disabilities or ADHD may have been denied accommodations or 
failed to request them in the belief that such requests would be 
denied. As a result, the most likely impact of the ADA Amendments Act 
is seen in the number of students with disabilities eligible to request 
and receive accommodations in testing situations. There are different 
types of accommodations requested in testing situations, but requests 
for additional exam time appear to be the type of accommodation most 
likely to have a significant, measurable cost impact. Other types of 
accommodations requested in testing situations are expected to incur 
few to no additional costs as a result of the ADA Amendments Act and 
this rule. For instance, requests for accommodations such as the use of 
assistive technology or the need for alternative text formats were the 
types of accommodations that would have been granted prior to the 
passage of the ADA Amendments Act because students with sensory 
disabilities needing these types of accommodations would have been 
covered by the ADA even under the narrower scope of coverage arising 
from the application of the Supreme Court's decisions in Toyota and 
Sutton. As a result, those types of accommodations cannot be directly 
attributed to the ADA Amendments Act. In addition, other types of 
accommodations such as adjustments to the testing environment (e.g., 
preferential seating or alternative locations) or the ability to have 
snacks or drinks would result in minimal or no costs. Therefore, the 
Department's examination of the costs of this rule is confined to those 
accommodations that individuals at postsecondary institutions or taking 
national examinations are most likely to request as a result of the ADA 
Amendments Act and that are most likely to incur measurable costs--
extra time on tests and examinations.
    One commenter, however, asserted that costs should be estimated for 
entities other than postsecondary institutions and testing entities, 
such as elementary and secondary schools, courthouses, etc. Certain 
concerns related to elementary and secondary schools are addressed 
below, but the Department found no direct evidence to indicate that 
institutions other than postsecondary institutions and testing entities 
will incur any significant economic impact as a result of accommodating 
individuals now covered under the ADA after passage of the ADA 
Amendments Act. Even after conducting further research, the Department 
was unable to identify any accommodations that would result in 
compliance costs that could be specifically attributable to the ADA 
Amendments Act other than those identified and measured in this 
analysis--i.e., accommodations for extra time on exams. While the 
Department anticipates that other individuals with disabilities will 
benefit from the ADA Amendments Act, no specific subsets of individuals 
with disabilities or specific accommodations were identified. 
Accordingly, it appears that the economic impact of ADA Amendments Act 
compliance for entities other than postsecondary schools and testing 
entities will not significantly affect the overall economic impact of 
the rule, and thus those costs are not analyzed here.
    One commenter cited the 2013-2014 Institutional Disability Access 
Management Strategic Plan at Cornell University \11\ as an example of 
the kind of careful planning done by postsecondary institutions to 
address the needs of students with disabilities as a basis for 
determining that the costs of implementing the ADA Amendments Act will 
be very high. This document focuses almost exclusively on initiatives 
taken in furtherance of ADA compliance generally, rather than 
compliance with the ADA Amendments Act specifically. Further, this 
document discloses that Cornell University annually updates its plans 
and policies toward individuals with disabilities. Nothing in this 
document indicates that Cornell University is absorbing high costs as a 
result of such ongoing updates, or that the ADA Amendments Act has 
presented Cornell University with an unusually high burden, over and 
above the ordinary obligations that the ADA itself imposes. It is true 
that this document reflects careful, comprehensive, and possibly costly 
planning on the behalf of students with disabilities, but the expense 
inherent in such planning is attributable to the overall requirements 
of the ADA itself, rather than the implementation of the ADA Amendments 
Act.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \11\ Cornell University--Disability Information, Institutional 
Disability Access Management Strategic Plan for Cornell University, 
July 1, 2013-June 30, 2014, available at https://disability.cornell.edu/docs/2013-2014-disability-strategic-plan.pdf 
(last visited Feb. 3, 2016).

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[[Page 53211]]

Comments Regarding the ADA and Related Laws
    Many of the commenters' points regarding increased costs appear to 
apply to concerns about the costs of complying with the ADA generally 
and not to costs related to expanded coverage due to the ADA Amendments 
Act. It is true that in some cases the costs of accommodating some 
students with more severe mobility and sensory disabilities could be 
significant, but these students were clearly covered even under the 
restrictive standards set forth by Sutton and Toyota, and accordingly, 
such costs cannot be attributed to the implementation of the ADA 
Amendments Act. One commenter expressed a concern that there has been 
an increase in requests for ``exotic or untrained animals as service or 
emotional support animals'' in student housing provided by 
postsecondary institutions. The Department notes that neither ``exotic 
animals'' nor ``emotional support animals'' qualify as service animals 
under the existing regulations implementing titles II and III of the 
ADA and thus, any costs related to allowing such animals are not due to 
the application of the requirements of this rule.\12\ And, similar to 
the observation noted above, the vast majority of students who use 
service animals as defined under the ADA have disabilities that would 
have been covered prior to passage of the ADA Amendments Act, even 
under the Supreme Court's more narrow application of the definition of 
``disability.'' So, although such costs may be measurable, they cannot 
fairly be attributed to the implementation of the ADA Amendments Act.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \12\ As in other types of housing environments, students who 
wish to have emotional support animals in housing provided by their 
place of education may make those requests under the Fair Housing 
Act, 42 U.S.C. 3601 et seq., and not the ADA.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Comments Regarding the Costs for the Adjustment of Existing Policies
    The Department acknowledges that postsecondary schools and national 
testing entities will incur some costs to update their written policies 
and training procedures to ensure that the definition of ``disability'' 
is interpreted in accordance with the requirements of the ADA 
Amendments Act, but has found no evidence to indicate that such costs 
would be high. The Department also notes that even prior to passage of 
the ADA Amendments Act, many postsecondary schools had policies in 
place that were broader and more comprehensive than would have been 
required under the more restrictive coverage set forth in Sutton and 
Toyota. As a result, their policies and procedures may require few, if 
any, updates to conform to the ADA Amendments Act and the revised 
regulations. The Department has found no evidence to suggest that the 
changes required by the ADA Amendments Act have placed or will place a 
significant burden upon the ongoing processes of evaluating and 
updating policies that already exist at postsecondary schools or with 
national testing entities. Nevertheless, the Department has attempted 
in this Final RA to quantify the cost of training staff members and 
updating policies as a result of the changes that the ADA Amendments 
Act final rule may require.
    Some commenters argued that the Department's estimate of a one-time 
cost of $500 per institution to change policies and procedures in 
compliance with the ADA Amendments Act was too low. Instead, one 
commenter proposed an estimated one-time cost of $2,500 per 
institution, and another commenter suggested an estimated one-time cost 
of $5,000 per institution for the first year's training costs. The 
underlying data and methodology to support these estimates were not 
provided by these commenters.
    The Department has found no data to substantiate the claims that 
the cost of changing existing policies and training procedures to 
comply with the ADA Amendments Act will be $2,500 or $5,000 per 
institution. The commenters proposing those costs did not provide any 
detailed evidence or arguments in support of such costs, and the 
Department's research found no evidence to indicate that any 
institutions have incurred training or policy revision costs of that 
magnitude since the ADA Amendments Act became effective in 2009. The 
commenter suggesting a $5,000 cost cites to one institution's 
disability access plan to suggest some of the types of costs that might 
be incurred. The referenced document, however, does not provide 
specific dollar figures and is not ADA Amendments Act specific. 
Therefore, the Department does not believe that the commenter's 
projected cost increases are correct because, as discussed above, the 
programmatic concerns identified in this document pertained to ADA 
compliance as a whole, but not with changes to the ADA created by the 
ADA Amendments Act specifically. The Department acknowledges that the 
absence of evidence of such costs, however, is not necessarily 
conclusive that some costs do not or will not exist. Nevertheless, the 
Department believes that, had postsecondary schools incurred $2,500 to 
$5,000 in such compliance costs since 2009 or if they expected to incur 
such costs going forward, some indicia of these costs would be readily 
apparent.
    Because no relevant supporting information regarding the 
commenters' estimates was provided, the Department conducted additional 
independent research and interviewed representatives at two 
postsecondary institutions to determine whether any additional formal 
or informal training had been needed to understand the implications of 
the ADA Amendments Act (and make adjustments to existing policies and 
procedures to conform to the Act's requirements). One of those two 
institutions stated that no additional training had been needed. The 
second institution said that additional training had been provided 
during meetings with staff. Approximately two hours per staff member 
(i.e., two hours per meeting) had been dedicated to this training. 
Approximately two part-time staff and six graduate students (working 
part time) received this training. In addition, the staff member 
providing the training had to attend a one-day conference to receive 
the information to pass along to the other staff. The Department 
conducted research to determine the costs of attending such a 
conference and receiving training on the changes to the law resulting 
from the ADA Amendments Act. Based on this independent research and 
feedback from representatives of two postsecondary institutions, the 
Department increased its estimate for one-time training costs from 
approximately $500 to $1,371 (see below for greater details on how the 
$1,371 was derived).
Comments Regarding the Costs of Additional Staff Time for the 
Administration of the Rule
    Some commenters argued that the rule will lead to a significant 
increase in postsecondary institution accessibility support staff time 
devoted to disability accommodation issues, perhaps even requiring 
postsecondary institutions to hire additional personnel. One commenter 
representing higher educational institutions estimated that each 
affected institution would be required to hire one new full-time staff 
member, at $40,000 per year, to address increased student requests. 
This commenter cited a study that indicated that the mean number of 
staff who assist students with disabilities is four per campus. The 
Department questions the commenter's estimate that each affected 
institution would have to increase their

[[Page 53212]]

staff by one full-time staff person, or approximately 25 percent of the 
mean entire staff, to address the incremental changes created by the 
ADA Amendments Act. The general increase in accommodation requests is 
likely attributable to a number of other factors not related to the ADA 
Amendments Act, including higher enrollment of students with 
disabilities. While there will likely be an incremental increase in the 
number of testing accommodations requested and granted as a direct 
result of the ADA Amendments Act, this incremental increase is unlikely 
to be the driving factor for hiring additional staff.
    Similarly, some commenters argued that the Department needed to 
incorporate estimates of the additional administrative time needed to 
review and administer additional requests for testing accommodations 
for both postsecondary and national testing entities. To address these 
concerns, the Department contacted several universities and testing 
entities, but received responses from only one school and one testing 
entity, and those responses were inconclusive. The postsecondary school 
said that there has been no noticeable increase in applications for 
accommodations since the passage of the ADA Amendments Act, but the 
testing entity stated that it has detected a large increase in requests 
for additional testing time since the passage of the ADA Amendments 
Act. In light of the uncertainty regarding any potential additional 
staff time needed to review additional requests for accommodations, the 
Department has made several assumptions based on research and 
discussions with subject matter experts and impacted entities so as to 
incorporate estimated costs for this item. This information is 
presented further below.
Comments Regarding the Costs of Additional Disputes
    Some commenters argued that the ADA Amendments Act would lead to 
increased litigation and internal disputes against institutions, as the 
scope of potential litigants would expand due to the increase in 
individuals covered by the ADA as a result of the passage of the ADA 
Amendments Act. Other commenters disagreed, stating that the new 
regulation would reduce the volume of complaints and litigation and 
streamline outstanding complaints and litigation due to increased 
consistency and predictability in judicial interpretation and executive 
enforcement. The Department does not agree with the commenters who 
asserted that the impact of the ADA Amendments Act will lead to an 
increase in litigation and disputes. The ADA Amendments Act clarified 
several contentious or uncertain aspects of the ADA, and thus may have 
decreased the overall amount of ADA litigation by reducing ambiguities 
in the law. However, assessing the impact of covered entities' failures 
to comply (or alleged failures to comply) with the requirements of the 
ADA, as amended, and the legal challenges that may result from 
compliance failures, are not properly within the ambit of the Final RA, 
nor do we have any relevant information that would assist in an 
analysis of such issues even if it they were appropriate to include in 
the Final RA.
Comments Regarding the Computation of Costs for Additional Examinations 
and Testing
    One commenter stated that the Department placed too much emphasis 
on the cost of proctor supervision when assessing the cost of extra 
exam time in postsecondary institutions. The commenter posited that 
many tests are administered electronically; accordingly, the costs of 
those tests are appropriately based on the cost of ``seat time'' and 
not the cost of proctor supervision. Unfortunately, no commenter 
provided a description of what the additional costs per student might 
be in such circumstances, nor did any commenter explain how such costs 
could be computed. The Department contacted several postsecondary 
institutions and testing entities for approximations of seat time 
costs, but did not receive any relevant information.
    Two commenters noted that for some long national examinations, 
additional testing time would necessitate the provision of an 
additional testing day that would increase costs substantially. This 
potential cost was not estimated in the Initial RA because research 
indicated that prior to the passage of the ADA Amendments Act, national 
examination institutions were already accommodating individuals who 
required additional time because of disabilities already explicitly 
covered by the ADA. As a result, testing entities were already 
providing an additional testing day where necessary. Therefore, any 
individuals who would now request additional time on national exams 
lasting six hours or more as a direct result of the ADA Amendments Act 
would be accommodated alongside those individuals who would have been 
covered prior to the ADA Amendments Act, and any potential costs would 
likely be minimal. Despite this conclusion, the Department has 
nonetheless conducted a sensitivity analysis to assess these potential 
costs with the assumption that testing entities were not already 
providing an additional testing day to accommodate certain individuals 
with disabilities. Because an additional testing day for these 
examinations was likely already provided prior to passage of the ADA 
Amendments Act, the Department continues to believe that the costs of 
accommodating any additional students who are now seeking additional 
exam time as a direct result of the ADA Amendments Act will be minimal. 
As a result, the sensitivity analysis the Department has conducted 
likely overestimates these potential costs. Further information on the 
potential range of these costs can be found below.
Comments Regarding the Estimate of ADHD Prevalence Among Postsecondary 
Students
    Several commenters questioned the Department's approach of reducing 
the portion of students with ADHD who would be impacted by the ADA 
Amendments Act. In the Initial RA, the Department had assumed based on 
some available research that 30 percent of those who self-identify as 
having ADHD as their primary disability would not need additional 
testing time because they would not meet the clinical definition of the 
disability. One commenter raised concern about presenting a specific 
percentage of students with ADHD who would not meet that clinical 
definition, because that number might inadvertently become a benchmark 
for postsecondary institutions and national testing entities to deny 
accommodations to a similar percentage of applicants requesting 
additional exam time because of their ADHD. The Department did not 
intend for this percentage to establish a benchmark. Covered entities 
should continue to evaluate requests for additional exam time by all 
individuals with disabilities on an individualized basis. In direct 
response to these concerns, the Department has decided not to reduce 
the number of individuals with ADHD who could now receive testing 
accommodations as a direct result of the ADA Amendments Act.
Comments Regarding the Economic Impact of the Rule on Industries
    A commenter representing institutions of higher education stated 
that the rule would have a significant impact on higher education as an 
industry, such that the rule should be considered ``economically 
significant.'' For the reasons indicated throughout

[[Page 53213]]

the Final RA, however, the Department does not believe that this 
commenter's points were persuasive. Based on the Department's own 
research and evaluation, it is convinced that the cost of ADA 
Amendments Act compliance will be far less than $100 million dollars in 
any given year.
    The commenter stated that the Department erred in its analysis by 
focusing primarily on college students with learning disabilities or 
ADHD and did not factor in potential costs related to students with 
other impairments including depression, schizophrenia, obsessive 
compulsive disorder, traumatic brain injuries, post-traumatic stress 
disorder, visual impairments not rising to the level of blindness, 
anxiety, autism, food allergies, or transitory impairments. Prior to 
passage of the ADA Amendments Act, higher educational institutions 
already were incurring costs to accommodate students with the above-
referenced impairments that constituted disabilities. These costs are 
not attributable to this rulemaking and thus not analyzed as such. For 
the relatively small number of students with the above-referenced 
disabilities who might not have been covered prior to the passage of 
the ADA Amendments Act, the Department was unable to specifically 
identify or measure any potential costs that postsecondary institutions 
would incur in accommodating these students.
    The commenter also stated that the Department's Initial RA should 
have considered the costs of academic accommodations other than 
extended testing time, such as ``note takers, tutors, technology-based 
auxiliary aids, electronic versions of text-books and class materials, 
and other accommodations and aids,'' as well as ``significant costs 
resulting from accommodation requests outside the classroom context, 
such as those involving residence halls, food services or athletics.'' 
The Department notes that, as with reasonable modifications and testing 
accommodations required prior to the ADA Amendments Act, the 
accommodations or auxiliary aids or services described by the commenter 
were being provided before the passage of the ADA Amendments Act and 
will not entail new costs specifically attributable to the ADA 
Amendments Act.
Comments Regarding ADA/IDEA Concerns
    Several commenters addressed the possibility that the expanded 
definition of ``disability'' could result in more cases arising under 
the ADA, rather than under the IDEA, in elementary and secondary 
schools. An association focusing on children with learning disabilities 
noted that students who manage their disabilities well often find that 
school districts challenge their IDEA claims of disability, but that 
such claims may meet with more success under the ADA or section 504 of 
the Rehabilitation Act. One commenter, whose comments were endorsed by 
several other groups, noted that particular subsets of children may be 
eligible for benefits under the ADA but not under the IDEA. These 
include students with episodic conditions, mitigated conditions, and 
conditions such as diabetes and seizure impairments that may require 
maintenance support, such as diet or medications. A national 
association of kindergarten through twelfth-grade educators indicated 
that, increasingly, in its view, some parents are more likely to seek 
school-related modifications for their child under the ADA, rather than 
the IDEA. This commenter suggested, accordingly, that ADA litigation 
would increase once parents become aware of the application of a 
broader definition of ``disability'' due to the ADA Amendments Act.
    The Department recognizes that the definition of ``disability'' 
under the IDEA is different than that under the ADA.\13\ While many 
students will be covered by both statutes, some students covered by the 
ADA will not be eligible for special education services under the IDEA; 
however, such students are covered by section 504 of the Rehabilitation 
Act and are entitled to a ``free appropriate public education'' (FAPE) 
under the Department of Education's section 504 regulation. The 
Department acknowledges commenters' views that some parents may assert 
rights for their elementary, middle, and high school students under the 
ADA due to the expanded definition of ``disability.'' However, the 
Department believes that the overall number of additional requests for 
reasonable modifications by elementary and secondary students that can 
be attributed to the ADA Amendments Act will be small and that any 
resulting economic impact is likely to be extremely limited. Students 
with ADHD and learning disabilities who already are covered by section 
504 and, in many instances, the IDEA as well, are entitled to needed 
special education, related aids and services, modifications or 
auxiliary aids or services under those statutes. Further, prior to 
filing suit under the ADA, any student that is covered under both the 
ADA and the IDEA must exhaust administrative remedies under the IDEA if 
seeking a remedy that is available under that statute. Thus, while the 
ADA is critical to ensuring that students with disabilities have a full 
and equal opportunity to participate in and benefit from public 
education, when viewed in concert with the protections already afforded 
by section 504 and the IDEA, the economic impact of implementing the 
ADA Amendments Act in K-12 schools will be minimal. The Department also 
notes that none of these commenters provided any data demonstrating 
that elementary and secondary schools have incurred additional costs 
due to the passage of the ADA Amendments Act more than six years ago.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \13\ Under the IDEA, a ``child with a disability'' is a child 
``with intellectual disabilities, hearing impairments (including 
deafness), speech or language impairments, visual impairments 
(including blindness), serious emotional disturbance . . . 
orthopedic impairments, autism, traumatic brain injury, other health 
impairments, or specific learning disabilities [and] who, by reason 
thereof, needs special education and related services.'' 20 U.S.C. 
1401(3). The IDEA regulation elaborates on each disability category 
used in the statute. See 34 CFR 300.8.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Comments Regarding Possible Fraudulent Claims of Disability
    A number of commenters stated that the rule might encourage some 
people without learning disabilities to claim that they have learning 
disabilities, so that they can take advantage of extra exam time. The 
Department has not identified any study suggesting that the release of 
this rule--more than six years after the effective date of the ADA 
Amendments Act--likely will motivate a spike in false claims for 
students seeking extra time on examinations. While individuals with 
learning disabilities previously denied accommodations may be motivated 
to seek recognition of their disabilities under this rule, because it 
may offer an improved opportunity for consideration of their unmet 
needs, the Department does not believe that individuals who might feign 
disabilities in pursuit of extra time would modify their behavior as a 
result of this rule; to the contrary, the motivation and opportunity to 
feign such disabilities would have existed prior to the passage of the 
ADA Amendments Act. The Department acknowledges that there will always 
be some individuals who seek to take advantage of rules that extend 
benefits to particular classes of individuals. However, the Department 
has determined that the costs of such fraudulent behavior cannot 
readily be computed. It appears that there is no generally accepted 
metric for

[[Page 53214]]

determining how many claims of disability are fraudulent, or how the 
cost of such fraudulent activity should be computed. And, the 
Department found no evidence to indicate that the rate of fraudulent 
claims of disability has increased since the implementation of the ADA 
Amendments Act in 2009. It should be emphasized that individuals 
seeking accommodations for their disabilities in testing situations 
under the ADA will still undergo an individualized assessment to 
determine whether they have disabilities covered by the statute. 
Extended exam time is an accepted reasonable modification or testing 
accommodation under the ADA for persons whose disabilities inhibit 
their ability to complete timed tests. Because the Department is not 
able to identify or measure an increase in fraudulent claims associated 
with this rule, those potential costs are not reflected in the economic 
analysis.
Final Results of the Primary Analysis
    This section presents the calculations used to estimate the total 
costs resulting from the revisions to the title II and title III 
regulations to incorporate the changes made by the ADA Amendments Act. 
Costs are first presented for postsecondary institutions and then for 
national testing entities. For a more detailed explanation of the 
Department's methodology and data used to calculate these costs, please 
refer to relevant sections in the Final RA. The Final RA is available 
on Department's Web site at www.ada.gov.
    As explained above, total costs to postsecondary institutions will 
include three components:
     One-time cost of training staff on relevant impact of ADA 
Amendments Act;
     Annual cost of processing additional accommodation 
requests for extra exam time made as a direct result of the ADA 
Amendments Act; and
     Annual cost of proctoring additional time on exams as a 
direct result of the ADA Amendments Act.
    To calculate the annual costs to all postsecondary institutions for 
processing these additional accommodation requests and proctoring 
additional exam time as a direct result of the ADA Amendments Act, the 
potential number of students who could request and receive these 
accommodations needs to be calculated. Calculations for the three costs 
listed above plus the number of students who are eligible to receive 
and likely to request accommodations for extra exam time as a direct 
result of the ADA Amendments Act are presented below.
    The annual one-time training cost for all postsecondary 
institutions is presented in Table 1 below. The methodology used to 
calculate this cost is explained further in Section 2.1 of the Final 
RA, and the sources for the data used are provided in Section 3.1.1 of 
the Final RA.

    Table 1--Calculation of One-Time Training Costs for Postsecondary
                              Institutions
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                        Variable                               Value
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Number of Postsecondary Institutions....................           7,234
One-Time Cost of Training on the Impacts of ADA                    1,371
 Amendments Act per Institution.........................
    One-Time Training Cost for Postsecondary                   9,917,633
     Institutions.......................................
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note: Due to rounding, totals may not equate exactly to the product of
  the inputs provided in the table.

    The number of additional eligible students likely to request and 
receive extra time on exams at postsecondary institutions as a direct 
result of the ADA Amendments Act is calculated in Tables 2 and 3 below. 
The methodology used for this calculation is explained further in 
Section 2.2 of the Final RA, and the sources for the data used are 
provided in Section 3.1.2 of the Final RA.

  Table 2--Calculation of Number of Students Who Are Eligible To Receive Accommodations for Extra Exam Time at
                                           Postsecondary Institutions
                                                  [First year]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
       Row #                   Variable                 Value                          Source
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1..................  Total Number of                   20,486,000  See Table 9 of the Final RA.
                      Postsecondary Students.
2..................  Percentage of Postsecondary            2.96%  See Table 11 of the Final RA.
                      Students with a Learning
                      Disability or ADHD.
3..................  Total Postsecondary Students         606,386  Calculation
                      with a Learning Disability                   (Multiply Row 1 and Row 2).
                      or ADHD.
4..................  Percentage of Students with            51.1%  See Table 12 of the Final RA.
                      Learning Disabilities or
                      ADHD Already Receiving
                      Accommodations for Extra
                      Exam Time Prior to Passage
                      of the ADA Amendments Act.
5..................  Total Number of Students             309,863  Calculation (Multiply Row 3 and Row 4).
                      with Learning Disabilities
                      or ADHD who were Requesting
                      Accommodations for Extra
                      Exam Time Prior to the ADA
                      Amendments Act.
6..................  Percentage of Students with            48.9%  See Table 12 of the Final RA.
                      Learning Disabilities or
                      ADHD Not Receiving
                      Accommodations for Extra
                      Exam Time Prior to Passage
                      ADA Amendments Act.
7..................  Total Eligible Students who          296,523  Calculation
                      Could Potentially Request                    (Multiply Row 3 and Row 6).
                      and Receive Accommodations
                      for Extra Exam Time as a
                      Direct Result of the ADA
                      Amendments Act.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note: Due to rounding, totals may not equate exactly to the product of the inputs provided in the table.


[[Page 53215]]


 Table 3--Calculation of Number of Students Who Are Eligible To Receive and Likely To Request Accommodations for
                                  Extra Exam Time at Postsecondary Institutions
                                                  [First year]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
   Row #           Variable         Low value    Med value    High value                  Source
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1..........  Total Eligible            296,523      296,523      296,523  See Table 2 above.
              Students who Could
              Potentially Request
              and Receive
              Accommodations for
              Extra Exam Time as
              a Direct Result of
              the ADA Amendments
              Act.
2..........  Percentage of                 50%          70%          90%  See Table 13 of the Final RA.
              Eligible Students
              Who Were Not
              Previously
              Receiving
              Accommodations for
              Extra Exam Time
              Prior to Passage of
              the ADA Amendments
              Act Who are Now
              Likely to Request
              and Receive this
              Accommodation.
3..........  Number of Students        148,261      207,566      266,870  Calculation (Multiply Row 1 and Row
              who are Eligible to                                          2).
              Receive and Likely
              to Request
              Accommodations for
              Extra Exam Time as
              a Direct Result of
              the ADA Amendments
              Act.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note: Due to rounding, totals may not equate exactly to the product of the inputs provided in the table.

    Table 4 below presents the calculations of the annual cost to 
postsecondary institutions for processing new accommodation requests 
for extra exam time. These requests are in addition to the ones 
currently received and processed by postsecondary institutions that are 
not being made as a direct result of the ADA Amendments Act. Costs 
depend on the number of students who will now be eligible to request 
and receive an accommodation for extra time on an exam as a direct 
result of the ADA Amendments Act revisions. The methodology used to 
calculate this cost is explained further in Section 2.3 of the Final 
RA, and the sources for the data used are provided in Section 3.1.3 of 
the Final RA.

    Table 4--Calculation of Annual Cost to Postsecondary Institutions for Processing Additional Accommodation
                                          Requests for Extra Exam Time
                                                  [First year]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                            Variable                                 Low value       Med value      High value
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Number of Students who are Eligible to Receive and Likely to             148,261         207,566         266,870
 Request Accommodations for Extra Exam Time.....................
Number of Staff Hours to Process each Accommodation Request.....               2               2               2
    Total Staff Hours to Process New Requests...................         296,523         415,132         533,741
Staff Hourly Wage Rate for Processing Accommodation Requests....          $24.91          $24.91          $24.91
    Annual Cost to Postsecondary Institutions for Processing          $7,387,118     $10,341,966     $13,296,813
     Additional Accommodation Requests for Extra Exam Time......
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note: Due to rounding, totals may not equate exactly to the product of the inputs provided in the table.

    Tables 5 and 6 calculate the annual costs to postsecondary 
institutions for proctoring additional time on exams requested by 
eligible students as a direct result of the ADA Amendments Act. The 
methodology used to calculate this cost is explained further in Section 
2.4 of the Final RA, and the sources for the data used are provided in 
Section 3.1.4 of the Final RA.

  Table 5--Calculation of Annual Cost to Postsecondary Institutions for
               Proctoring Extra Time on Exams, Per Student
                              [First year]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                      Variable                               Value
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Average Length of an Exam at a Postsecondary                         1.5
 Institution in Hours...............................
Average Additional Time Requested, as a Percentage                   75%
 of Total Exam Time.................................
    Average Amount of Extra Time per Exam in Hours..                1.13
Average Number of Exams per Class...................                   3
Average Number of Classes per Year..................                   8
    Average Number of Exams per Student.............                  24
Average Annual Additional Exam Time per Student in                    27
 Hours..............................................
Average Proctor to Student Ratio....................                0.11
Average Hourly Wage of Exam Proctor.................              $12.90
    Annual Cost for Proctoring Additional Time on                 $36.67
     Exams per Student..............................
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note: Due to rounding, totals may not equate exactly to the product of
  the inputs provided in the table.


[[Page 53216]]


           Table 6--Total Annual Cost to Postsecondary Institutions for Proctoring Extra Time on Exams
                                                  [First year]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                            Variable                                    Low             Med            High
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Annual Cost for Proctoring Additional Time on Exams per Student.          $36.67          $36.67          $36.67
Number of Students who are Eligible to Receive and Likely to             148,261         207,566         266,870
 Request Accommodations for Extra Exam Time.....................
Annual Cost to Postsecondary Institutions for Proctoring Extra        $5,437,419      $7,612,387      $9,787,355
 Time on Exams..................................................
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note: Due to rounding, totals may not equate exactly to the product of the inputs provided in the table.

    Just as with postsecondary institutions, the costs to national 
testing entities from the revisions to the ADA Amendments Act will 
include three components:
     One-time cost of training staff on relevant impact of ADA 
Amendments Act;
     Annual cost of processing additional accommodation 
requests for extra exam time made as a direct result of the ADA 
Amendments Act; and
     Annual cost of proctoring additional time on exams as a 
direct result of the ADA Amendments Act.
    The annual costs of processing additional accommodation requests 
and proctoring the extra exam time depends on the number of test takers 
who will request accommodations for extra exam time as a direct result 
of the ADA Amendments Act. Calculations for the three costs listed 
above plus the number of test takers who are eligible to receive and 
likely to request accommodations of extra exam time as a direct result 
of the ADA Amendments Act are presented below.
    The annual one-time training cost for all national testing entities 
is presented in Table 7 below. The methodology used to calculate this 
cost is explained further in Section 2.1 of the Final RA, and the 
sources for the data used are provided in Section 3.2.1 of the Final 
RA.

  Table 7--Calculation of One-Time Training Costs for National Testing
                                Entities
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                      Variable                               Value
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Number of National Testing Entities.................               1,397
One-Time Cost of Training on the Impacts of ADA                   $1,371
 Amendments Act per Institution.....................
    One-Time Training Cost for National Testing               $1,915,252
     Entities.......................................
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note: Due to rounding, totals may not equate exactly to the product of
  the inputs provided in the table.

    The number of test takers who are now eligible to receive and 
likely to request extra time on national exams is calculated in Tables 
8 and 9 below. The methodology used to calculate this number is 
explained further in Section 2.2 of the Final RA, and the sources for 
the data used are provided in Section 3.2.2 of the Final RA.

  Table 8--Calculation of Number of Test Takers Who Are Eligible To Receive Accommodations for Extra Exam Time
                                         From National Testing Entities
                                                  [First year]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
       Row #                   Variable                 Value                          Source
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1..................  Total Number of Test Takers.      10,450,539  See Table 23 of the Final RA.
2..................  Percentage of Test Takers              2.96%  See Table 11 of the Final RA.
                      with a Learning Disability
                      or ADHD *.
3..................  Total Test Takers with a             309,336  Calculation (Multiply Row 1 and Row 2).
                      Learning Disability or ADHD.
4..................  Percentage of Test Takers              51.1%  See Table 12 of the Final RA.
                      with Learning Disabilities
                      or ADHD Already Receiving
                      Accommodations for Extra
                      Exam Time Prior to Passage
                      of the ADA Amendments Act.*
5..................  Total Number of Test Takers          158,071  Calculation (Multiply Row 3 and Row 4).
                      with Learning Disabilities
                      or ADHD who were Requesting
                      Accommodations for Extra
                      Exam Time Prior to the ADA
                      Amendments Act.
6..................  Percentage of Test Takers              48.9%  See Table 12 of the Final RA.
                      with Learning Disabilities
                      or ADHD Not Receiving
                      Accommodations for Extra
                      Exam Time Prior to Passage
                      ADA Amendments Act.*
7..................  Total Eligible Test Takers           151,265  Calculation (Multiply Row 3 and Row 6).
                      who Could Potentially
                      Request and Receive
                      Accommodations for Extra
                      Exam Time as a Direct
                      Result of the ADA
                      Amendments Act.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note: Due to rounding, totals may not equate exactly to the product of the inputs provided in the table.
* For these assumptions, the Final RA assumes the same values for national test takers as found for
  postsecondary students, since no specific data for national examinations was found and many national exams are
  designed for students or recent graduates.


[[Page 53217]]


 Table 9--Calculation of Number of Test Takers Who Are Eligible To Receive and Likely To Request Accommodations
                               for Extra Exam Time From National Testing Entities
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
   Row #           Variable            Low          Med          High                     Source
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1..........  Total Eligible Test       151,265      151,265      151,265  See Table 8 above.
              Takers who Could
              Potentially Request
              and Receive
              Accommodations for
              Extra Exam Time as
              a Direct Result of
              the ADA Amendments
              Act.
2..........  Percentage of                 50%          70%          90%  See Table 13 of the Final RA.
              Eligible Test
              Takers Who Were Not
              Previously
              Receiving
              Accommodations for
              Extra Exam Time
              Prior to Passage of
              the ADA Amendments
              Act Who are Now
              Likely to Request
              and Receive this
              Accommodation.
3..........  Number of Test             75,633      105,886      136,139  Calculation (Multiply Row 1 and Row
              Takers who are                                               2).
              Eligible to Receive
              and Likely to
              Request
              Accommodations for
              Extra Exam Time as
              a Direct Result of
              the ADA Amendments
              Act.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note: Due to rounding, totals may not equate exactly to the product of the inputs provided in the table.

    Table 10 illustrates the calculations of the annual cost to 
national testing entities for processing additional accommodation 
requests for extra exam time made as a direct result of the ADA 
Amendments Act. The methodology used to calculate this cost is 
explained further in Section 2.3 of the Final RA, and the sources for 
the data used are provided in Section 3.2.3 of the Final RA.

    Table 10--Calculation of Annual Cost to National Testing Entities for Processing Additional Accommodation
                                          Requests for Extra Exam Time
                                                  [First year]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                            Variable                                 Low value       Med value      High value
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Number of Test Takers who are Eligible to Receive and Likely to           75,633         105,886         136,139
 Request Accommodations for Extra Exam Time.....................
Number of Staff Hours to Process each Accommodation Request.....               2               2               2
    Total Staff Hours to Process Additional Accommodation                151,265         211,771         272,278
     Requests for Extra Exam Time...............................
Staff Hourly Wage Rate for Processing Accommodation Requests....          $24.91          $24.91          $24.91
    Annual Cost to National Testing Entities for Processing           $3,768,396      $5,275,755      $6,783,113
     Additional Accommodation Requests for Extra Exam Time......
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note: Due to rounding, totals may not equate exactly to the product of the inputs provided in the table.

    Finally, Tables 11 and 12 calculate the annual costs to national 
testing entities for allowing test takers to receive additional time on 
exams. Again, the cost here may be calculated as the opportunity cost 
of the seat occupied by the test taker for the additional hours of 
testing. However, because the seat cost per test taker was not 
available for this Final RA analysis, the additional time spent by a 
test proctor to oversee the exam is used as a proxy for the cost. The 
methodology used to calculate this cost is explained further in Section 
2.4 of the Final RA, and the sources for the data used are provided in 
Section 3.2.4 of the Final RA.

  Table 11--Calculation of Annual Cost to National Testing Entities for
             Proctoring Extra Time on Exams, per Test Taker
                              [First year]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                       Variable                              Value
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Average Length of a National Exam in Hours...........               4.11
Average Extra Time Requested, as a Percentage of                     75%
 Total Exam Time.....................................
    Average Amount of Extra Time per Exam in Hours...               3.09
Average Number of Exams per Test Taker per Year......                  1
    Average Annual Extra Exam Time per Test Taker in                3.09
     Hours...........................................
Average Proctor-to-Test-Taker Ratio..................                  1
Average Hourly Wage of Exam Proctor..................             $12.90
    Cost to National Testing Entities for Proctoring              $39.81
     Extra Time on Exams per Test Taker..............
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note: Due to rounding, totals may not equate exactly to the product of
  the inputs provided in the table.


           Table 12--Total Annual Cost to National Testing Entities for Proctoring Extra Time on Exams
                                                  [First year]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                            Variable                                 Low value       Med value      High value
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cost to National Testing Entities for Proctoring Extra Time on            $39.81          $39.81          $39.81
 Exams per Test Taker...........................................
Number of Test Takers who are Eligible to Receive and Likely to           75,633         105,886         136,139
 Request Accommodations for Extra Exam Time each year...........

[[Page 53218]]

 
Annual Cost to National Testing Entities for Proctoring Extra         $3,011,096      $4,215,534      $5,419,973
 Time on Exams..................................................
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note: Due to rounding, totals may not equate exactly to the product of the inputs provided in the table.

    Based on the calculations provided above, total costs to society 
for implementing the ADA Amendments Act revisions into the title II and 
title III regulations will range between $31.4 million and $47.1 
million in the first year. The first year of costs will be higher than 
all subsequent years because the first year includes the one-time cost 
of training. Note that even the high end of this first-year cost range 
is well below the $100 million mark that signifies an ``economically 
significant'' regulation. The breakdown of total costs by entity is 
provided in Table 13 below.

                   Table 13--Total Costs First Year (2016) in Primary Analysis, Non-Discounted
                                                  [$ millions]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                          Cost category                              Low value       Med value      High value
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Postsecondary Institutions: ANNUAL Total Costs of Processing               $12.8           $18.0           $23.1
 Additional Requests and Proctoring Extra Exam Time.............
Postsecondary Institutions: ONE-TIME Cost for Additional                     9.9             9.9             9.9
 Training at Institutions.......................................
National Exams: ANNUAL Total Costs of Processing Additional                  6.8             9.5            12.2
 Requests and Proctoring Extra Exam Time........................
National Exams: ONE-TIME Cost for Additional Training at                     1.9             1.9             1.9
 Institutions...................................................
                                                                 -----------------------------------------------
    Total.......................................................            31.4            39.3            47.1
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note: Due to rounding, totals may not equate exactly to the sum of the inputs provided in the table.

    Taking these costs over the next 10 years and discounting to 
present value terms at a rate of 7 percent, the total cost of 
implementing the ADA Amendments Act revisions is approximately $214.2 
million over 10 years, as shown in Table 14 below.

                              Table 14--Total Costs Over 10 Years, Primary Analysis
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                    Annualized
       Total discounted value ($ millions)          estimate ($     Year dollar    Discount rate  Period covered
                                                     millions)                       (percent)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
$214.2..........................................           $28.6            2015               7       2016-2025
$243.6..........................................            26.3            2015               3       2016-2025
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Potential Additional Costs to National Testing Entities
    The ADA Amendments Act revisions will allow eligible individuals 
with disabilities to receive additional time on exams, both for course-
work exams at postsecondary institutions and standardized national 
examinations. Some national examinations are long and can last up to 
eight hours per test. Thus, when test takers request additional time on 
these longer exams, such requests will inevitably push the exam into an 
additional day.
    As commenters pointed out in response to the Initial RA, there are 
costs associated with providing exams on an additional day. While there 
is no data to predict which exams will extend to an additional day, 
especially given that specific accommodations are determined 
individually, this Final RA assumes that exams that normally would take 
six hours or more to administer and be scheduled for one day may 
require an additional day of testing if the test taker seeks more time 
as an accommodation. To quantify the total costs of providing an 
additional day of testing for those individuals who would not 
previously have received this additional time, prior to the passage of 
the ADA Amendments Act, the following two costs are quantified:
Exam Revision Costs
    While it appears that many national testing entities do not revise 
the content of exams that span an additional day, the exam format and 
materials can be affected by such an extension. For instance, computer-
based exams are programmed to span a certain amount of time, allowing 
for timed break periods throughout. When more time is provided to take 
the exam, the exam must be reprogrammed to span the new amount of time, 
with planned breaks for the test taker. For paper-based exams, test 
booklets are often reprinted to allow one set of questions for one day 
of testing, and another set for the extra day of testing. This form of 
printing prevents test takers from going home and looking up the 
answers for the next set of questions.
Room Rental Cost
    Exams are delivered in different settings depending on the type of 
national exam. Some exams are delivered at testing centers where 
different types of exams are administered at once in the same room. In 
this case, the cost of an extra day of testing could be captured by the 
seat cost per test taker. Other exams are delivered to test takers 
exclusively taking that exam, and those exams are often administered in 
rooms rented out at a university, hotel, or other building. This cost 
could be captured by the room rental cost. The Final RA takes a 
conservative approach, using the room

[[Page 53219]]

rental cost to approximate the cost of delivering an exam over an 
additional day, as this is the larger of the two costs.
    Based on the calculations provided in Sections 4.2.1 and 4.2.2 of 
the Final RA, the total additional costs of providing an extra testing 
day to eligible test takers will likely range between $2.7 and $4.8 
million per year. Table 15 adds this into the total costs in the first 
year to approximate the range of total costs to society from 
implementing the ADA Amendments Act revisions. For further information 
on the methodology, data, and assumptions used to analyze these 
potential additional costs for national testing entities, please refer 
to Section 4.2 of the Final RA.

 Table 15--Total Costs First Year, Plus Potential Additional Costs for Additional Day of Testing, Non-Discounted
                                                  [$ millions]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                          Cost category                              Low value       Med value      High value
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Postsecondary Institutions: ANNUAL Total Costs of Processing               $12.8           $18.0           $23.1
 Additional Requests and Proctoring Extra Exam Time.............
Postsecondary Institution: ONE-TIME Cost for Additional Training             9.9             9.9             9.9
 at Institutions................................................
National Exams: ANNUAL Total Costs of Processing Additional                  6.8             9.5            12.2
 Requests and Proctoring Extra Exam Time........................
National Exams: ONE-TIME Cost for Additional Training at                     1.9             1.9             1.9
 Institutions...................................................
National Exams: ANNUAL Potential Additional Costs for Exams that             2.7             3.8             4.8
 Run over onto an Additional Day................................
                                                                 -----------------------------------------------
    Total.......................................................            34.1            43.1            52.0
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note: Due to rounding, totals may not equate exactly to the sum of the inputs provided in the table.

Benefits Discussion
    The Department believes that the enactment of the ADA Amendments 
Act benefits millions of Americans, and the benefits to those 
individuals are non-quantifiable but nonetheless significant. The 
Department determined, however, that there was a group of individuals 
with disabilities who would be able to receive benefits in the form of 
increased access to accommodations in testing from postsecondary 
institutions and national testing entities, and that these benefits 
would be associated with specific costs to those institutions and 
entities, which are analyzed above.
    With respect to specific benefits, in the first year, our analysis 
estimates that approximately 148,261 to 266,870 postsecondary students 
will take advantage of accommodations for extra exam time that they 
otherwise would not have received but for this rule. Over 10 years, 
approximately 1.6 million to 2.8 million students will benefit. An 
additional 802,196 to 1.4 million national exam test takers would 
benefit over that same 10 years (assuming that people take an exam one 
time only).
    Some number of these individuals could be expected to earn a degree 
or license that they otherwise would not have as a result of the 
testing accommodations they are now eligible to receive as a direct 
result of the ADA Amendments Act. The Department was unable to find 
robust data to estimate the number of students who would receive a 
bachelor's degree or licenses after this rule goes into effect that 
would not otherwise have received one. However, extensive research has 
shown notably higher earnings for those with college degrees over those 
who do not have degrees. Estimates of this lifetime earnings vary, with 
some studies estimating an earning differential ranging from 
approximately $300,000 to $1 million.\14\ In addition, some number of 
students may be able to earn a degree in a higher-paying field than 
they otherwise could, and yet other students would get the same degree, 
but perhaps finish their studies faster or more successfully (i.e., 
higher grades) than otherwise would be the case. All of these outcomes 
would be expected to lead to greater lifetime productivity and 
earnings.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \14\ See Mark Schneider, How Much Is That Bachelor's Degree 
Really Worth?: The Million Dollar Misunderstanding, American 
Enterprise Institute, AEI Online (May 2009), available at https://www.aei.org/article/education/higher-education/how-much-is-that-bachelors-degree-really-worth/ (last visited Feb. 3, 2016); U.S. 
Census Bureau, Work-Life earnings by Field of Degree and Occupation 
for People with a Bachelor's Degree: 2011, American Community Survey 
Briefs (Oct. 2012), available at https://www.census.gov/prod/2012pubs/acsbr11-04.pdf (last visited Feb. 3, 2016); Anthony P. 
Carnevale et al., The College Payoff-Education, Occupations, 
Lifetime Earnings, Georgetown University Center on Education and the 
Workforce (2011), available at https://cew.georgetown.edu/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/collegepayoff-complete.pdf (last visited 
April 22, 2016).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    In addition to these quantitative benefits, this rule will have 
significant non-quantifiable benefits to individuals with disabilities 
who, prior to the passage of the ADA Amendments Act and this rule, were 
denied the opportunity for equal access to an education or to become 
licensed in their chosen professions because of their inability to 
receive needed testing accommodations. As with all other improvements 
in access for individuals with disabilities, the ADA Amendments Act is 
expected to generate psychological benefits for covered individuals, 
including reduced stress and an increased sense of personal dignity and 
self-worth, as more individuals with disabilities are able to 
successfully complete tests and exams and more accurately demonstrate 
their academic skills and abilities. Some individuals will now be more 
likely to pursue a favored career path or educational pursuit, which 
will in turn lead to greater personal satisfaction.
    Additional benefits to society arise from improved testing 
accessibility. For instance, if some persons with disabilities are able 
to increase their earnings, they may need less public support--either 
direct financial support or support from other programs or services. 
This, in turn, would lead to cross-sector benefits from resource 
savings arising from reduced social service agency outlays. Others, 
such as family members of individuals with disabilities, may also 
benefit from reduced financial and psychological pressure due to the 
greater independence and earnings of the family member whose disability 
is now covered by the ADA under the revised definition of 
``disability.''
    In addition to the discrete group of individuals with learning 
disabilities and ADHD who will benefit from the changes made to the 
definition of ``disability,'' there is a class of individuals who will 
now fall within the nondiscrimination protections of the ADA if they 
are refused access to or participation in the facilities, programs,

[[Page 53220]]

services, or activities of covered entities. The benefits to these 
individuals are significant, but unquantifiable. The Department 
believes (as did Congress when it enacted the ADA) that there is 
inherent value that results from greater accessibility for all 
Americans. Economists use the term ``existence value'' to refer to the 
benefit that individuals derive from the plain existence of a good, 
service, or resource--in this case, the increased accessibility to 
postsecondary degrees and specialized licenses that would arise from 
greater access to testing accommodations or the increased accessibility 
to covered entities' facilities, programs, services, or activities as a 
result of the ADA Amendments Act. This value can also be described as 
the value that people both with and without disabilities derive from 
the guarantees of equal protection and nondiscrimination. In other 
words, people value living in a country that guarantees the rights of 
persons with disabilities, whether or not they themselves are directly 
or indirectly affected by disabilities. There can be a number of 
reasons why individuals might value accessibility even if they do not 
require it now and do not ever anticipate needing it in the future. 
These reasons include bequest motives and concern for relatives or 
friends who require accessibility. People in society value equity, 
fairness, and human dignity, even if they cannot express these values 
in terms of money. These are the exact values that agencies are 
directed to consider in Executive Order 13563.

B. Regulatory Flexibility Act

    In the NPRM, the Department stated that, based on its analysis, it 
``can certify that the rule will not have a significant economic impact 
on a substantial number of small entities.'' The Department sought 
public comment on this proposed certification and its underlying 
analysis, including the costs to small entities, but received no public 
comments on these issues. The Attorney General has again reviewed this 
regulation in accordance with the Regulatory Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. 
605(b), and by approving it hereby certifies that it will not have a 
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities 
for the reasons discussed more fully below.
    First, the ADA Amendments Act took effect on January 1, 2009; all 
covered entities have been required to comply with the Act since that 
date and thus should be familiar with the requirements of the law. 
Second, the rule does not include reporting requirements and imposes no 
new recordkeeping requirements. Third, as shown above, the only title 
II and title III entities that would be significantly affected by the 
proposed changes to the ADA regulations are national testing entities 
and postsecondary institutions. The type of accommodations that most 
likely will be requested and required by those whose coverage has been 
clarified under titles II and III of ADA Amendments Act will be 
additional time in testing situations. While many of these national 
testing or postsecondary institutions are small businesses or small 
governmental entities, the costs associated with additional testing 
time are minimal; therefore, the Department believes the economic 
impact of this rule will be neither significant for these small 
entities nor disproportionate relative to the costs for larger 
entities.
    The Department estimates that approximately 7,234 postsecondary 
institutions could be impacted based on data from the U.S. Department 
of Education National Center for Education Statistics.\15\ The 
Department used data from the U.S. Census Bureau \16\ from 2012 for 
Junior Colleges (NAICS \17\ 6112) and Colleges, Universities, and 
Professional Schools (NAICS 6113) to estimate the proportion of those 
entities that would meet the Small Business Administration's criteria 
for small business or small governmental entity.\18\ As shown in Table 
18 and Table 19 below, small postsecondary institutions are estimated 
to account for approximately 35.3 percent of all postsecondary 
institutions. Therefore, the Department estimates that 2,556 small 
postsecondary institutions would be impacted by this rule.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \15\ U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education 
Statistics (2015). Digest of Education Statistics, 2013 (NCES 2015-
011), Chapter 2. 2011-2012 academic year--Number of Title IV 
institutions, by level and control of institution and state or other 
jurisdiction, available at https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=84 (last visited Feb.3, 2016).
    \16\ U.S. Census Bureau, Number of Firms, Number of 
Establishments, Employment, Annual Payroll, and Estimated Receipts 
by Enterprise Receipt Sizes for the United States, NAICS Sectors: 
2012, available at https://www.census.gov/econ/susb/ (last visited 
Feb. 3, 2016).
    \17\ North American Industry Classification System.
    \18\ U.S. Small Business Administration, Table of Small Business 
Size Standards, available at https://www.sba.gov/content/small-business-size-standards (last visited April 22, 2016).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The overall costs of this rule for postsecondary institutions were 
calculated based on the number of entities and number of postsecondary 
students affected. The cost of processing additional accommodation 
requests for extra exam time and the cost of additional time spent 
proctoring exams depend on the number of students. This methodology 
assumes that per-student costs are roughly the same for institutions of 
differing sizes. Because larger entities have more students on average 
than smaller ones, the Department used the proportion of the industry 
sub-group's revenues for small and large entities as a proxy for the 
number of students. Thus, using receipts for Junior Colleges (NAICS 
6112) and Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (NAICS 6113) 
as a proxy for number of students, small postsecondary institutions are 
estimated to bear 4 percent of the processing and proctoring costs for 
providing additional exam time for that industry sub-group--or 
approximately $726,534 of the $17.95 million first-year costs. 
Additionally, postsecondary institutions are expected to incur one-time 
costs for additional training of $1,371 per entity (see Tables 6-8 in 
the Final RA). In total, small postsecondary institutions would incur 
$4.2 million in costs in the first year, which would average 
approximately $1,655 for each of the 2,556 small postsecondary 
institutions. The average annual revenue for each these small 
postsecondary institutions is $501,600. The cost is 0.33 percent of 
their revenue. Therefore, the costs will not be substantial for these 
small entities.
    In comparison to the number of small postsecondary entities, there 
are approximately 4,678 postsecondary institutions (64.7 percent of the 
7,234) that would be considered larger entities, and these larger 
entities would incur $23.6 million in costs during the first year, 
which would average out to approximately $5,053 per large postsecondary 
institution during the first year. This $5,053 per large postsecondary 
institution during the first year is approximately 3.1 times higher 
than the cost that would be incurred by small postsecondary 
institutions during that same time.

[[Page 53221]]



            Table 16--Firm, Establishment, and Receipts Data for Junior Colleges (NAICS 6112) in 2012
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                  Est. receipts
                                                                  Firms        Establishments      ($000,000)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
All Junior Colleges.......................................               464               953             8,449
Small Junior Colleges (estimated)*........................               378               427             1,723
Small Junior Colleges as a Percentage of All Junior                    81.5%             44.8%             20.4%
 Colleges.................................................
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* SBA small business standard is $20.5 million; small business totals here include those with receipts under $25
  million. This is due to data being reported in size categories that do not exactly match industry small
  business classifications: i.e. from $10 million to $14.99 million, and from $15 million to $19.99 million; and
  from $20 million to $24.99 million, and from $25 million to $29.99 million.
Source: Calculated from data provided by the U.S. Census Bureau, Statistics of U.S. Businesses. See SBA Office
  of Advocacy and U.S. Census Bureau, Statistics of U.S. Businesses, Table 2--Number of firms, establishment,
  receipts, employment, and payroll by firm size (in receipts) and industry, 2012, available at https://www.sba.gov/advocacy/firm-size-data (last visited April 22, 2016).


  Table 17--Firm, Establishment, and Receipts Data for Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (NAICS
                                                  6113) in 2012
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                  Est. receipts
                                                                  Firms        Establishments      ($000,000)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
All Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools......             2,282             4,329           222,854
Small Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools                 1,369             1,439             7,637
 (estimated) *............................................
Small Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools as              60.0%             33.2%              3.4%
 a Percentage of All Colleges, Universities, and
 Professional Schools.....................................
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* SBA small business standard is $27.5 million; small business totals here include those with receipts under $30
  million. This is due to data being reported in size categories that do not exactly match industry small
  business classifications: i.e. from $10 million to $14.99 million, and from $15 million to $19.99 million; and
  from $20 million to $24.99 million, and from $25 million to $29.99 million.
Source: Calculated from data provided by the U.S. Census Bureau, Statistics of U.S. Businesses. See SBA Office
  of Advocacy and U.S. Census Bureau, Statistics of U.S. Businesses, Table 2--Number of firms, establishment,
  receipts, employment, and payroll by firm size (in receipts) and industry, 2012, available at https://www.sba.gov/advocacy/firm-size-data (last visited April 22, 2016).


   Table 18--Firm, Establishment, and Receipts Data for Both Junior Colleges (NAICS 6112) and Small Colleges,
                     Universities, and Professional Schools (NAICS 6113), Combined, in 2012
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                  Est. receipts
                                                                  Firms        Establishments      ($000,000)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
All Junior Colleges, and Colleges, Universities, and                   2,746             5,282           231,303
 Professional Schools.....................................
Small Junior Colleges, and Colleges, Universities, and                 1,747             1,866             9,360
 Professional Schools (estimated) *.......................
Small Junior Colleges, and Colleges, Universities, and                 63.6%             35.3%              4.0%
 Professional Schools as a Percentage of All Junior
 Colleges, and Colleges, Universities, and Professional
 Schools..................................................
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* SBA small business standard for Junior Colleges is $20.5 million; small business totals here include Junior
  Colleges with receipts under $25 million. This is due to data being reported in size categories that do not
  exactly match industry small business classifications: i.e. from $10 million to $14.99 million, and from $15
  million to $19.99 million; and from $20 million to $24.99 million, and from $25 million to $29.99 million. The
  SBA small business standard for Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools is $27.5 million; small
  business totals here include Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools with receipts under $30 million.
  This is due to data being reported in size categories that do not exactly match industry small business
  classifications: i.e. from $10 million to $14.99 million, and from $15 million to $19.99 million; and from $20
  million to $24.99 million, and from $25 million to $29.99 million.
Source: Calculated from data provided by the U.S. Census Bureau, Statistics of U.S. Businesses. See SBA Office
  of Advocacy and U.S. Census Bureau, Statistics of U.S. Businesses, Table 2--Number of firms, establishment,
  receipts, employment, and payroll by firm size (in receipts) and industry, 2012, available at https://www.sba.gov/advocacy/firm-size-data (last visited April 22, 2016).


    Table 19--Estimated Small Entity Establishments for Postsecondary
                         Institutions in 2011-12
------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total Postsecondary Establishments (All Firms/Entities);           7,234
 Academic year 2010-2011 *..............................
Percent Small Entities (2012) **........................           35.3%
Total Impacted Small Entity Establishments ***..........           2,556
------------------------------------------------------------------------
* U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education
  Statistics, (2015), Digest of Education Statistics, 2013 (NCES 2015-
  011), available at https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=84
  (last visited Feb. 3, 2016).
** Derived from Tables 16-18 above.
*** Estimated using percentage of small establishments for NAICS sectors
  6112 and 6113.


[[Page 53222]]

    In addition to postsecondary institutions, some national testing 
entities would also be impacted. The Department used data on 
Educational Test Development and Evaluation Services (NAICS 6117102) 
\19\ to estimate the number of affected entities. Approximately 1,397 
national testing entities would be impacted by this rule, irrespective 
of size. Small entity establishments are estimated to account for 923 
(66.1 percent) of these.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \19\ Using data reported by the Census Bureau for 2007, the most 
recent year for which information on NAICS 6117102 was available.

    Table 20--Firm and Receipts Data for National Testing Entities in 2007: Educational Test Development and
                                       Evaluation Services (NAICS 6117102)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                  Est. receipts
                                                                  Firms        Establishments      ($000,000)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Small, Medium, and Large Entities *.......................               748             1,144             2,843
Small Entities **.........................................               734               756               704
Percentage Small Entities.................................             98.1%             66.1%             24.8%
Total Entities............................................             1,000             1,397             2,907
Estimated Total Small Entities ***........................               981               923               720
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Includes only those entities which were categorized by annual revenue in the available data.
** Data is reported in size categories that do not exactly match industry small business classifications: i.e.
  from $5 million to $9.99 million, and from $10 million to $24.99 million. SBA small business standard is $15.0
  million for all Educational Support Services; small business totals here include those with receipts under $25
  million.
*** Applying the estimated percentage of small entities to the total number of entities.
Source: Calculated from data provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. See U.S. Census Bureau, 2007 Economic Census,
  Educational Services: Subject Series--Estab and Firm Size: Receipts/Revenue Size of Establishments for the
  United States: 2007 (EC0761SSSZ4), available at https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=ECN_2007_US_61SSSZ1&prodType=tableE: (last visited Feb. 3, 2016).

    Small entity establishments in the Educational Test Development and 
Evaluation Services industry group account for 24.8 percent of that 
industry's receipts. If receipts are used as a proxy for number of test 
takers in a manner similar to that described above for postsecondary 
institutions, then small national testing entities can be expected to 
bear 24.8 percent of the industry's $9.49 million first-year costs of 
processing additional accommodation requests for extra exam time and 
additional time spent proctoring exams--or approximately $2.35 million. 
Additionally, national testing entities are expected to incur a fixed 
cost for additional training of $1,371 per entity. Thus, for the 
approximately 923 small national testing entities, total costs in the 
first year are estimated to average $3,918 each. Average revenue for 
these entities is $780,264. The cost is 0.50 percent of their revenue. 
Therefore, the costs will not be substantial for these small entities.
    In comparison to the number of small testing entities, 
approximately 474 national testing center establishments (33.9 percent 
of the 1,397) would be considered larger entities, and they would incur 
$7.79 million in costs during the first year, which would average out 
to approximately $16,440 per large national testing center 
establishment during the first year. This $16,440 per large national 
testing center establishment is approximately 4.2 times as high as the 
cost that would be incurred by small national testing center 
establishments during that same time.
    As explained above, the Department estimates that approximately 
2,556 small postsecondary establishments and 923 small national testing 
establishments would be impacted by this rule, for a total of 
approximately 3,479 small business establishments. The estimates were 
based on average estimates for all entities, irrespective of size. The 
Department notes that the average first-year cost estimates presented 
above for small entities are higher than the first-year cost estimates 
presented in the NPRM because the Department's estimates for the 
initial training costs (which will be incurred during the first year) 
are now higher based on public comment and further research and 
analysis conducted by the Department. However, the overall costs of 
this rule for small entities over the 10-year period are lower because 
the Department's final overall cost estimates in the Final RA are lower 
as a result of refinements made to the analysis in response to public 
comment and based on further research conducted by the Department.
    Based on the above analysis, the Attorney General can certify that 
the rule will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial 
number of small entities.

C. Executive Order 13132: Federalism

    Executive Order 13132 of August 4, 1999, Federalism, directs that, 
to the extent practicable and permitted by law, an agency shall not 
promulgate any regulation that has federalism implications, that 
imposes substantial direct compliance costs on State and local 
governments, that is not required by statute, or that preempts State 
law, unless the agency meets the consultation and funding requirements 
of section 6 of the Executive Order. Because this rule does not have 
federalism implications as defined in the Executive Order, does not 
impose direct compliance costs on State and local governments, is 
required by statute, and does not preempt State law within the meaning 
of the Executive Order, the Department has concluded that compliance 
with the requirements of section 6 is not necessary.

D. Plain Language Instructions

    The Department makes every effort to promote clarity and 
transparency in its rulemaking. In any regulation, there is a tension 
between drafting language that is simple and straightforward and 
drafting language that gives full effect to issues of legal 
interpretation. The Department operates a toll-free ADA Information 
Line (800) 514-0301 (voice); (800) 514-0383 (TTY) that the public is 
welcome to call to obtain assistance in understanding anything in this 
final rule.

E. Paperwork Reduction Act

    This final rule does not contain any new or revised ``collection[s] 
of information'' as defined by the

[[Page 53223]]

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.

F. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act

    Section 4(2) of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995, 2 U.S.C. 
1503(2), excludes from coverage under that Act any proposed or final 
Federal regulation that ``establishes or enforces any statutory rights 
that prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, 
sex, national origin, age, handicap, or disability.'' Accordingly, this 
rulemaking is not subject to the provisions of the Unfunded Mandates 
Reform Act.

List of Subjects for 28 CFR Parts 35 and 36

    Administrative practice and procedure, Buildings and facilities, 
Business and industry, Civil rights, Communications equipment, 
Individuals with disabilities, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements, State and local governments.

    By the authority vested in me as Attorney General by law, including 
28 U.S.C. 509 and 510, 42 U.S.C. 12134, 12186, and 12205a, and Public 
Law 110-325, 122 Stat. 3553 (2008), parts 35 and 36 of title 28 of the 
Code of Federal Regulations are amended as follows:

PART 35--NONDISCRIMINATION ON THE BASIS OF DISABILITY IN STATE AND 
LOCAL GOVERNMENT SERVICES

0
1. Revise the authority citation for part 35 to read as follows:

    Authority:  5 U.S.C. 301; 28 U.S.C. 509, 510; 42 U.S.C. 12134, 
12131, and 12205a.


0
2. Revise Sec.  35.101 to read as follows:


Sec.  35.101  Purpose and broad coverage.

    (a) Purpose. The purpose of this part is to implement subtitle A of 
title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 
12131-12134), as amended by the ADA Amendments Act of 2008 (ADA 
Amendments Act) (Pub. L. 110-325, 122 Stat. 3553 (2008)), which 
prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability by public entities.
    (b) Broad coverage. The primary purpose of the ADA Amendments Act 
is to make it easier for people with disabilities to obtain protection 
under the ADA. Consistent with the ADA Amendments Act's purpose of 
reinstating a broad scope of protection under the ADA, the definition 
of ``disability'' in this part shall be construed broadly in favor of 
expansive coverage to the maximum extent permitted by the terms of the 
ADA. The primary object of attention in cases brought under the ADA 
should be whether entities covered under the ADA have complied with 
their obligations and whether discrimination has occurred, not whether 
the individual meets the definition of ``disability.'' The question of 
whether an individual meets the definition of ``disability'' under this 
part should not demand extensive analysis.

0
3. Amend Sec.  35.104 by revising the definition of ``Disability'' to 
read as follows:


Sec.  35.104  Definitions.

* * * * *
    Disability. The definition of disability can be found at Sec.  
35.108.
* * * * *

0
4. Add Sec.  35.108 to subpart A to read as follows:


Sec.  35.108  Definition of ``disability.''

    (a)(1) Disability means, with respect to an individual:
    (i) A physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one 
or more of the major life activities of such individual;
    (ii) A record of such an impairment; or
    (iii) Being regarded as having such an impairment as described in 
paragraph (f) of this section.
    (2) Rules of construction. (i) The definition of ``disability'' 
shall be construed broadly in favor of expansive coverage, to the 
maximum extent permitted by the terms of the ADA.
    (ii) An individual may establish coverage under any one or more of 
the three prongs of the definition of ``disability'' in paragraph 
(a)(1) of this section, the ``actual disability'' prong in paragraph 
(a)(1)(i) of this section, the ``record of'' prong in paragraph 
(a)(1)(ii) of this section, or the ``regarded as'' prong in paragraph 
(a)(1)(iii) of this section.
    (iii) Where an individual is not challenging a public entity's 
failure to provide reasonable modifications under Sec.  35.130(b)(7), 
it is generally unnecessary to proceed under the ``actual disability'' 
or ``record of'' prongs, which require a showing of an impairment that 
substantially limits a major life activity or a record of such an 
impairment. In these cases, the evaluation of coverage can be made 
solely under the ``regarded as'' prong of the definition of 
``disability,'' which does not require a showing of an impairment that 
substantially limits a major life activity or a record of such an 
impairment. An individual may choose, however, to proceed under the 
``actual disability'' or ``record of'' prong regardless of whether the 
individual is challenging a public entity's failure to provide 
reasonable modifications.
    (b)(1) Physical or mental impairment means:
    (i) Any physiological disorder or condition, cosmetic 
disfigurement, or anatomical loss affecting one or more body systems, 
such as: neurological, musculoskeletal, special sense organs, 
respiratory (including speech organs), cardiovascular, reproductive, 
digestive, genitourinary, immune, circulatory, hemic, lymphatic, skin, 
and endocrine; or
    (ii) Any mental or psychological disorder such as intellectual 
disability, organic brain syndrome, emotional or mental illness, and 
specific learning disability.
    (2) Physical or mental impairment includes, but is not limited to, 
contagious and noncontagious diseases and conditions such as the 
following: orthopedic, visual, speech, and hearing impairments, and 
cerebral palsy, epilepsy, muscular dystrophy, multiple sclerosis, 
cancer, heart disease, diabetes, intellectual disability, emotional 
illness, dyslexia and other specific learning disabilities, Attention 
Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Human Immunodeficiency Virus infection 
(whether symptomatic or asymptomatic), tuberculosis, drug addiction, 
and alcoholism.
    (3) Physical or mental impairment does not include homosexuality or 
bisexuality.
    (c)(1) Major life activities include, but are not limited to:
    (i) Caring for oneself, performing manual tasks, seeing, hearing, 
eating, sleeping, walking, standing, sitting, reaching, lifting, 
bending, speaking, breathing, learning, reading, concentrating, 
thinking, writing, communicating, interacting with others, and working; 
and
    (ii) The operation of a major bodily function, such as the 
functions of the immune system, special sense organs and skin, normal 
cell growth, and digestive, genitourinary, bowel, bladder, 
neurological, brain, respiratory, circulatory, cardiovascular, 
endocrine, hemic, lymphatic, musculoskeletal, and reproductive systems. 
The operation of a major bodily function includes the operation of an 
individual organ within a body system.
    (2) Rules of construction. (i) In determining whether an impairment 
substantially limits a major life activity, the term major shall not be 
interpreted strictly to create a demanding standard.
    (ii) Whether an activity is a major life activity is not determined 
by reference to whether it is of central importance to daily life.
    (d) Substantially limits--(1) Rules of construction. The following 
rules of

[[Page 53224]]

construction apply when determining whether an impairment substantially 
limits an individual in a major life activity.
    (i) The term ``substantially limits'' shall be construed broadly in 
favor of expansive coverage, to the maximum extent permitted by the 
terms of the ADA. ``Substantially limits'' is not meant to be a 
demanding standard.
    (ii) The primary object of attention in cases brought under title 
II of the ADA should be whether public entities have complied with 
their obligations and whether discrimination has occurred, not the 
extent to which an individual's impairment substantially limits a major 
life activity. Accordingly, the threshold issue of whether an 
impairment substantially limits a major life activity should not demand 
extensive analysis.
    (iii) An impairment that substantially limits one major life 
activity does not need to limit other major life activities in order to 
be considered a substantially limiting impairment.
    (iv) An impairment that is episodic or in remission is a disability 
if it would substantially limit a major life activity when active.
    (v) An impairment is a disability within the meaning of this part 
if it substantially limits the ability of an individual to perform a 
major life activity as compared to most people in the general 
population. An impairment does not need to prevent, or significantly or 
severely restrict, the individual from performing a major life activity 
in order to be considered substantially limiting. Nonetheless, not 
every impairment will constitute a disability within the meaning of 
this section.
    (vi) The determination of whether an impairment substantially 
limits a major life activity requires an individualized assessment. 
However, in making this assessment, the term ``substantially limits'' 
shall be interpreted and applied to require a degree of functional 
limitation that is lower than the standard for substantially limits 
applied prior to the ADA Amendments Act.
    (vii) The comparison of an individual's performance of a major life 
activity to the performance of the same major life activity by most 
people in the general population usually will not require scientific, 
medical, or statistical evidence. Nothing in this paragraph (d)(1) is 
intended, however, to prohibit or limit the presentation of scientific, 
medical, or statistical evidence in making such a comparison where 
appropriate.
    (viii) The determination of whether an impairment substantially 
limits a major life activity shall be made without regard to the 
ameliorative effects of mitigating measures. However, the ameliorative 
effects of ordinary eyeglasses or contact lenses shall be considered in 
determining whether an impairment substantially limits a major life 
activity. Ordinary eyeglasses or contact lenses are lenses that are 
intended to fully correct visual acuity or to eliminate refractive 
error.
    (ix) The six-month ``transitory'' part of the ``transitory and 
minor'' exception in paragraph (f)(2) of this section does not apply to 
the ``actual disability'' or ``record of'' prongs of the definition of 
``disability.'' The effects of an impairment lasting or expected to 
last less than six months can be substantially limiting within the 
meaning of this section for establishing an actual disability or a 
record of a disability.
    (2) Predictable assessments. (i) The principles set forth in the 
rules of construction in this section are intended to provide for more 
generous coverage and application of the ADA's prohibition on 
discrimination through a framework that is predictable, consistent, and 
workable for all individuals and entities with rights and 
responsibilities under the ADA.
    (ii) Applying these principles, the individualized assessment of 
some types of impairments will, in virtually all cases, result in a 
determination of coverage under paragraph (a)(1)(i) of this section 
(the ``actual disability'' prong) or paragraph (a)(1)(ii) of this 
section (the ``record of'' prong). Given their inherent nature, these 
types of impairments will, as a factual matter, virtually always be 
found to impose a substantial limitation on a major life activity. 
Therefore, with respect to these types of impairments, the necessary 
individualized assessment should be particularly simple and 
straightforward.
    (iii) For example, applying these principles it should easily be 
concluded that the types of impairments set forth in paragraphs 
(d)(2)(iii)(A) through (K) of this section will, at a minimum, 
substantially limit the major life activities indicated. The types of 
impairments described in this paragraph may substantially limit 
additional major life activities (including major bodily functions) not 
explicitly listed in paragraphs (d)(2)(iii)(A) through (K).
    (A) Deafness substantially limits hearing;
    (B) Blindness substantially limits seeing;
    (C) Intellectual disability substantially limits brain function;
    (D) Partially or completely missing limbs or mobility impairments 
requiring the use of a wheelchair substantially limit musculoskeletal 
function;
    (E) Autism substantially limits brain function;
    (F) Cancer substantially limits normal cell growth;
    (G) Cerebral palsy substantially limits brain function;
    (H) Diabetes substantially limits endocrine function;
    (I) Epilepsy, muscular dystrophy, and multiple sclerosis each 
substantially limits neurological function;
    (J) Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection substantially 
limits immune function; and
    (K) Major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, post-traumatic 
stress disorder, traumatic brain injury, obsessive compulsive disorder, 
and schizophrenia each substantially limits brain function.
    (3) Condition, manner, or duration. (i) At all times taking into 
account the principles set forth in the rules of construction, in 
determining whether an individual is substantially limited in a major 
life activity, it may be useful in appropriate cases to consider, as 
compared to most people in the general population, the conditions under 
which the individual performs the major life activity; the manner in 
which the individual performs the major life activity; or the duration 
of time it takes the individual to perform the major life activity, or 
for which the individual can perform the major life activity.
    (ii) Consideration of facts such as condition, manner, or duration 
may include, among other things, consideration of the difficulty, 
effort or time required to perform a major life activity; pain 
experienced when performing a major life activity; the length of time a 
major life activity can be performed; or the way an impairment affects 
the operation of a major bodily function. In addition, the non-
ameliorative effects of mitigating measures, such as negative side 
effects of medication or burdens associated with following a particular 
treatment regimen, may be considered when determining whether an 
individual's impairment substantially limits a major life activity.
    (iii) In determining whether an individual has a disability under 
the ``actual disability'' or ``record of'' prongs of the definition of 
``disability,'' the focus is on how a major life activity is 
substantially limited, and not on what outcomes an individual can 
achieve. For example, someone with a learning disability may achieve a 
high level of academic success, but may nevertheless be substantially 
limited in one or more major life activities, including, but not 
limited to, reading, writing, speaking, or

[[Page 53225]]

learning because of the additional time or effort he or she must spend 
to read, write, speak, or learn compared to most people in the general 
population.
    (iv) Given the rules of construction set forth in this section, it 
may often be unnecessary to conduct an analysis involving most or all 
of the facts related to condition, manner, or duration. This is 
particularly true with respect to impairments such as those described 
in paragraph (d)(2)(iii) of this section, which by their inherent 
nature should be easily found to impose a substantial limitation on a 
major life activity, and for which the individualized assessment should 
be particularly simple and straightforward.
    (4) Mitigating measures include, but are not limited to:
    (i) Medication, medical supplies, equipment, appliances, low-vision 
devices (defined as devices that magnify, enhance, or otherwise augment 
a visual image, but not including ordinary eyeglasses or contact 
lenses), prosthetics including limbs and devices, hearing aid(s) and 
cochlear implant(s) or other implantable hearing devices, mobility 
devices, and oxygen therapy equipment and supplies;
    (ii) Use of assistive technology;
    (iii) Reasonable modifications or auxiliary aids or services as 
defined in this regulation;
    (iv) Learned behavioral or adaptive neurological modifications; or
    (v) Psychotherapy, behavioral therapy, or physical therapy.
    (e) Has a record of such an impairment. (1) An individual has a 
record of such an impairment if the individual has a history of, or has 
been misclassified as having, a mental or physical impairment that 
substantially limits one or more major life activities.
    (2) Broad construction. Whether an individual has a record of an 
impairment that substantially limited a major life activity shall be 
construed broadly to the maximum extent permitted by the ADA and should 
not demand extensive analysis. An individual will be considered to fall 
within this prong of the definition of ``disability'' if the individual 
has a history of an impairment that substantially limited one or more 
major life activities when compared to most people in the general 
population, or was misclassified as having had such an impairment. In 
determining whether an impairment substantially limited a major life 
activity, the principles articulated in paragraph (d)(1) of this 
section apply.
    (3) Reasonable modification. An individual with a record of a 
substantially limiting impairment may be entitled to a reasonable 
modification if needed and related to the past disability.
    (f) Is regarded as having such an impairment. The following 
principles apply under the ``regarded'' as prong of the definition of 
``disability'' (paragraph (a)(1)(iii) of this section):
    (1) Except as set forth in paragraph (f)(2) of this section, an 
individual is ``regarded as having such an impairment'' if the 
individual is subjected to a prohibited action because of an actual or 
perceived physical or mental impairment, whether or not that impairment 
substantially limits, or is perceived to substantially limit, a major 
life activity, even if the public entity asserts, or may or does 
ultimately establish, a defense to the action prohibited by the ADA.
    (2) An individual is not ``regarded as having such an impairment'' 
if the public entity demonstrates that the impairment is, objectively, 
both ``transitory'' and ``minor.'' A public entity may not defeat 
``regarded as'' coverage of an individual simply by demonstrating that 
it subjectively believed the impairment was transitory and minor; 
rather, the public entity must demonstrate that the impairment is (in 
the case of an actual impairment) or would be (in the case of a 
perceived impairment), objectively, both ``transitory'' and ``minor.'' 
For purposes of this section, ``transitory'' is defined as lasting or 
expected to last six months or less.
    (3) Establishing that an individual is ``regarded as having such an 
impairment'' does not, by itself, establish liability. Liability is 
established under title II of the ADA only when an individual proves 
that a public entity discriminated on the basis of disability within 
the meaning of title II of the ADA, 42 U.S.C. 12131-12134.
    (g) Exclusions. The term ``disability'' does not include--
    (1) Transvestism, transsexualism, pedophilia, exhibitionism, 
voyeurism, gender identity disorders not resulting from physical 
impairments, or other sexual behavior disorders;
    (2) Compulsive gambling, kleptomania, or pyromania; or
    (3) Psychoactive substance use disorders resulting from current 
illegal use of drugs.

Subpart B--General Requirements

0
5. Amend Sec.  35.130 by revising paragraph (b)(7) and adding paragraph 
(i) to read as follows:


Sec.  35.130  General prohibitions against discrimination.

* * * * *
    (b) * * *
    (7)(i) A public entity shall make reasonable modifications in 
policies, practices, or procedures when the modifications are necessary 
to avoid discrimination on the basis of disability, unless the public 
entity can demonstrate that making the modifications would 
fundamentally alter the nature of the service, program, or activity.
    (ii) A public entity is not required to provide a reasonable 
modification to an individual who meets the definition of 
``disability'' solely under the ``regarded as'' prong of the definition 
of ``disability'' at Sec.  35.108(a)(1)(iii).
* * * * *
    (i) Nothing in this part shall provide the basis for a claim that 
an individual without a disability was subject to discrimination 
because of a lack of disability, including a claim that an individual 
with a disability was granted a reasonable modification that was denied 
to an individual without a disability.
* * * * *

0
6. Add Appendix C to part 35 to read as follows:

Appendix C to Part 35--Guidance to Revisions to ADA Title II and Title 
III Regulations Revising the Meaning and Interpretation of the 
Definition of ``Disability'' and Other Provisions in Order To 
Incorporate the Requirements of the ADA Amendments Act


    Note:  This appendix contains guidance providing a section-by-
section analysis of the revisions to 28 CFR parts 35 and 36 
published on August 11, 2016.

Guidance and Section-by-Section Analysis

    This section provides a detailed description of the Department's 
changes to the meaning and interpretation of the definition of 
``disability'' in the title II and title III regulations, the 
reasoning behind those changes, and responses to public comments 
received on these topics. See Office of the Attorney General; 
Amendment of Americans with Disabilities Act Title II and Title III 
Regulations to Implement ADA Amendments Act of 2008, 79 FR 4839 
(Jan. 30, 2014) (NPRM).

Sections 35.101 and 36.101--Purpose and Broad Coverage

    Sections 35.101 and 36.101 set forth the purpose of the ADA 
title II and title III regulations. In the NPRM, the Department 
proposed revising these sections by adding references to the ADA 
Amendments Act in renumbered Sec. Sec.  35.101(a) and 36.101(a) and 
by adding new Sec. Sec.  35.101(b) and 36.101(b), which explain that 
the ADA is intended to have broad coverage and that the definition 
of ``disability'' shall be construed broadly. The proposed language 
in paragraph (b) stated that the primary purpose of the ADA 
Amendments Act is to make it easier for

[[Page 53226]]

people with disabilities to obtain protection under the ADA. 
Consistent with the ADA Amendments Act's purpose of reinstating a 
broad scope of protection under the ADA, the definition of 
``disability'' in this part shall be construed broadly in favor of 
expansive coverage to the maximum extent permitted by the terms of 
the ADA. The primary object of attention in ADA cases should be 
whether covered entities have complied with their obligations and 
whether discrimination has occurred, not whether the individual 
meets the definition of disability. The question of whether an 
individual meets the definition of disability should not demand 
extensive analysis.
    Many commenters supported inclusion of this information as 
reiterating the statutory language evincing Congress' intention ``to 
restore a broad definition of `disability' under the ADA. . . .'' 
Several commenters asked the Department to delete the last sentence 
in Sec. Sec.  35.101(b) and 36.101(b), arguing that inclusion of 
this language is inconsistent with the individualized assessment 
required under the ADA. Some of these commenters acknowledged, 
however, that this language is drawn directly from the ``Purposes'' 
of the ADA Amendments Act. See Public Law 110-325, sec. 2(b)(5). The 
Department declines to remove this sentence from the final rule. In 
addition to directly quoting the statute, the Department believes 
that this language neither precludes nor is inconsistent with 
conducting an individualized assessment of whether an individual is 
covered by the ADA.
    Some commenters recommended that the Department add a third 
paragraph to these sections expressly stating that ``not all 
impairments are covered disabilities.'' These commenters contended 
that ``[t]here is a common misperception that having a diagnosed 
impairment automatically triggers coverage under the ADA.'' While 
the Department does not agree that such a misperception is common, 
it agrees that it would be appropriate to include such a statement 
in the final rule, and has added it to the rules of construction 
explaining the phrase ``substantially limits'' at Sec. Sec.  
35.108(d)(1)(v) and 36.105(d)(1)(v).

Sections 35.104 and 36.104--Definitions

    The current title II and title III regulations include the 
definition of ``disability'' in regulatory sections that contain all 
enumerated definitions in alphabetical order. Given the expanded 
length of the definition of ``disability'' and the number of 
additional subsections required in order to give effect to the 
requirements of the ADA Amendments Act, the Department, in the NPRM, 
proposed moving the definition of ``disability'' from the general 
definitional sections at Sec. Sec.  35.104 and 36.104 to a new 
section in each regulation, Sec. Sec.  35.108 and 36.105, 
respectively.
    The Department received no public comments in response to this 
proposal and the definition of ``disability'' remains in its own 
sections in the final rule.

Sections 35.108(a)(1) and 36.105(a)(1) Definition of 
``disability''--General

    In the ADA, Congress originally defined ``disability'' as ``(A) 
a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or 
more major life activities of an individual; (B) a record of such an 
impairment; or (C) being regarded as having such an impairment.'' 
Public Law 101-336, sec. 3 (1990). This three-part definition--the 
``actual,'' ``record of,'' and ``regarded as'' prongs--was modeled 
after the definition of ``handicap'' found in the Rehabilitation Act 
of 1973. H.R. Rep. No. 110-730, pt. 2, at 6 (2008). The Department's 
1991 title II and title III ADA regulations reiterate this three-
part basic definition as follows:
    Disability means, with respect to an individual,
     a physical or mental impairment that substantially 
limits one or more of the major life activities of such individual;
     a record of such an impairment; or
     being regarded as having such an impairment.

56 FR 35694, 35717 (July 26, 1991); 56 FR 35544, 35548 (July 26, 
1991).
    While the ADA Amendments Act did not amend the basic structure 
or terminology of the original statutory definition of 
``disability,'' the Act revised the third prong to incorporate by 
reference two specific provisions construing this prong. 42 U.S.C. 
12102(3)(A)-(B). The first statutory provision clarified the scope 
of the ``regarded as'' prong by explaining that ``[a]n individual 
meets the requirement of `being regarded as having such an 
impairment' if the individual establishes that he or she has been 
subjected to an action prohibited under this chapter because of an 
actual or perceived physical or mental impairment whether or not the 
impairment limits or is perceived to limit a major life activity.'' 
42 U.S.C. 12102(3)(A). The second statutory provision provides an 
exception to the ``regarded as'' prong for impairments that are both 
transitory and minor. A transitory impairment is defined as ``an 
impairment with an actual or expected duration of 6 months or 
less.'' 42 U.S.C. 12102(3)(B). In the NPRM, the Department proposed 
revising the ``regarded as'' prong in Sec. Sec.  35.108(a)(1)(iii) 
and 36.105(a)(1)(iii) to reference the regulatory provisions that 
implement 42 U.S.C. 12102(3). The NPRM proposed, at Sec. Sec.  
35.108(f) and 36.105(f), that ``regarded as'' having an impairment 
would mean that the individual has been subjected to an action 
prohibited by the ADA because of an actual or perceived impairment 
that is not both ``transitory and minor.''
    The first proposed sentence directed that the meaning of the 
``regarded as prong'' shall be understood in light of the 
requirements in Sec. Sec.  35.108(f) and 36.105(f). The second 
proposed sentence merely provided a summary restatement of the 
requirements of Sec. Sec.  35.108(f) and 36.105(f). The Department 
received no comments in response to this proposed language. Upon 
consideration, however, the Department decided to retain the first 
proposed sentence but omit the second as superfluous. Because the 
first sentence explicitly incorporates and directs the public to the 
requirements set out in Sec. Sec.  35.108(f) and 36.105(f), the 
Department believes that summarizing those requirements here is 
unnecessary. Accordingly, in the final rule, Sec. Sec.  
35.108(a)(1)(iii) and 36.105(a)(1)(iii) simply reference paragraph 
(f) of the respective section. See also, discussion in the Guidance 
and Section-by-Section analysis of Sec. Sec.  35.108(f) and 
36.105(f), below.

Sections 35.108(a)(2) and 36.105(a)(2) Definition of 
``disability''--Rules of Construction

    In the NPRM, the Department proposed Sec. Sec.  35.108(a)(2) and 
36.105(a)(2), which set forth rules of construction on how to apply 
the definition of ``disability.'' Proposed Sec. Sec.  
35.108(a)(2)(i) and 36.105(a)(2)(i) state that an individual may 
establish coverage under any one or more of the prongs in the 
definition of ``disability''--the ``actual disability'' prong in 
paragraph (a)(1)(i), the ``record of'' prong in paragraph (a)(1)(ii) 
or the ``regarded as'' prong in paragraph (a)(1)(iii). See 
Sec. Sec.  35.108(a)(1)(i) through (iii); 36.105(a)(1)(i) through 
(iii). The NPRM's inclusion of rules of construction stemmed 
directly from the ADA Amendments Act, which amended the ADA to 
require that the definition of ``disability'' be interpreted in 
conformance with several specific directives and an overarching 
mandate to ensure ``broad coverage . . . to the maximum extent 
permitted by the terms of [the ADA].'' 42 U.S.C. 12102(4)(A).
    To be covered under the ADA, an individual must satisfy only one 
prong. The term ``actual disability'' is used in these rules of 
construction as shorthand terminology to refer to an impairment that 
substantially limits a major life activity within the meaning of the 
first prong of the definition of ``disability.'' See Sec. Sec.  
35.108(a)(1)(i); 36.105(a)(1)(i). The terminology selected is for 
ease of reference. It is not intended to suggest that an individual 
with a disability who is covered under the first prong has any 
greater rights under the ADA than an individual who is covered under 
the ``record of'' or ``regarded as'' prongs, with the exception that 
the ADA Amendments Act revised the ADA to expressly state that an 
individual who meets the definition of ``disability'' solely under 
the ``regarded as'' prong is not entitled to reasonable 
modifications of policies, practices, or procedures. See 42 U.S.C. 
12201(h).
    Proposed Sec. Sec.  35.108(a)(2)(ii) and 36.105(a)(2)(ii) were 
intended to incorporate Congress's expectation that consideration of 
coverage under the ``actual disability'' and ``record of 
disability'' prongs of the definition of ``disability'' will 
generally be unnecessary except in cases involving requests for 
reasonable modifications. See 154 Cong. Rec. H6068 (daily ed. June 
25, 2008) (joint statement of Reps. Steny Hoyer and Jim 
Sensenbrenner). Accordingly, these provisions state that, absent a 
claim that a covered entity has failed to provide reasonable 
modifications, typically it is not necessary to rely on the ``actual 
disability'' or ``record of'' disability prongs. Instead, in such 
cases, the coverage can be evaluated exclusively under the 
``regarded as'' prong,'' which does not require a showing of an 
impairment that substantially limits a major life activity or a 
record of such an impairment. Whether or not an individual is 
challenging a covered entity's failure to provide reasonable 
modifications, the

[[Page 53227]]

individual may nevertheless proceed under the ``actual disability'' 
or ``record of'' prong. The Department notes, however, that where an 
individual is challenging a covered entity's failure to provide 
effective communication, that individual cannot rely solely on the 
``regarded as prong'' because the entitlement to an auxiliary aid or 
service is contingent on a disability-based need for the requested 
auxiliary aid or service. See 28 CFR 35.160(b), 28 CFR 36.303(c).
    The Department received no comments objecting to these proposed 
rules of construction. The final rule retains these provisions but 
renumbers them as paragraphs (ii) and (iii) of Sec. Sec.  
35.108(a)(2) and 36.105(a)(2) and replaces the reference to 
``covered entity'' in the title III regulatory text with ``public 
accommodation.''
    The Department has added a third rule of construction at the 
beginning of Sec. Sec.  35.108(a)(2) and 36.105(a)(2), numbered 
Sec. Sec.  35.108(a)(2)(i) and 36.105(a)(2)(i). Closely tracking the 
amended statutory language, these provisions state that ``[t]he 
definition of disability shall be construed broadly in favor of 
expansive coverage, to the maximum extent permitted by the terms of 
the ADA.'' See 42 U.S.C. 12102(4)(A). This principle is referenced 
in other portions of the final rule, but the Department believes it 
is important to include here underscore Congress's intent that it be 
applied throughout the determination of whether an individual falls 
within the ADA definition of ``disability.''

Sections 35.108(b) and 36.105(b)--Physical or Mental Impairment

    The ADA Amendments Act did not change the meaning of the term 
``physical or mental impairment.'' Thus, in the NPRM, the Department 
proposed only minor modifications to the general regulatory 
definitions for this term at Sec. Sec.  35.108(b)(1)(i) and 
36.105(b)(1)(i) by adding examples of two additional body systems--
the immune system and the circulatory system--that may be affected 
by a physical impairment.
    In addition, the Department proposed adding ``dyslexia'' to 
Sec. Sec.  35.108(b)(2) and 36.105(b)(2) as an example of a specific 
learning disability that falls within the meaning of the phrase 
``physical or mental impairment.'' Although dyslexia is a specific 
diagnosable learning disability that causes difficulties in reading, 
unrelated to intelligence and education, the Department became aware 
that some covered entities mistakenly believe that dyslexia is not a 
clinically diagnosable impairment. Therefore, the Department sought 
public comment regarding its proposed inclusion of a reference to 
dyslexia in these sections.
    The Department received a significant number of comments in 
response to this proposal. Many commenters supported inclusion of 
the reference to dyslexia. Some of these commenters also asked the 
Department to include other examples of specific learning 
disabilities such as dysgraphia \1\ and dyscalculia.\2\ Several 
commenters remarked that as ``research and practice bear out, 
dyslexia is just one of the specific learning disabilities that 
arise from `neurological differences in brain structure and function 
and affect a person's ability to receive, store, process, retrieve 
or communicate information.' '' These commenters identified the most 
common specific learning disabilities as: ``Dyslexia, dysgraphia, 
dyscalculia, auditory processing disorder, visual processing 
disorder and non-verbal learning disabilities,'' and recommended 
that the Department rephrase its reference to specific learning 
disabilities to make clear that there are many other specific 
learning disabilities besides dyslexia. The Department has 
considered all of these comments and has decided to use the phrase 
``dyslexia and other specific learning disabilities'' in the final 
rule.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ Dysgraphia is a learning disability that negatively affects 
the ability to write.
    \2\ Dyscalculia is a learning disability that negatively affects 
the processing and learning of numerical information.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Another commenter asked the Department to add a specific 
definition of dyslexia to the regulatory text itself. The Department 
declines to do so as it does not give definitions for any other 
physical or mental impairment in the regulations.
    Other commenters recommended that the Department add ADHD to the 
list of examples of ``physical or mental impairments'' in Sec. Sec.  
35.108(b)(2) and 36.105(b)(2).\3\ Some commenters stated that ADHD, 
which is not a specific learning disability, is a very commonly 
diagnosed impairment that is not always well understood. These 
commenters expressed concern that excluding ADHD from the list of 
physical and mental impairments could be construed to mean that ADHD 
is less likely to support an assertion of disability as compared to 
other impairments. On consideration, the Department agrees that, due 
to the prevalence of ADHD but lack of public understanding of the 
condition, inclusion of ADHD among the examples set forth in 
Sec. Sec.  35.108(b)(2) and 36.105(b)(2) will provide appropriate 
and helpful guidance to the public.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \3\ The Department is using the term ADHD in the same manner as 
it is currently used in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of 
Mental Disorders: Fifth Edition (DSM-5), to refer to three different 
presentations of symptoms: Predominantly inattentive (which was 
previously known as ``attention deficit disorder); predominantly 
hyperactive or impulsive; or a combined presentation of inattention 
and hyperactivity-impulsivity. The DSM-5 is the most recent edition 
of a widely-used manual designed to assist clinicians and 
researchers in assessing mental disorders. See Diagnostic and 
Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders: Fifth Edition DSM-5, 
American Psychiatric Association, at 59-66 (2013).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Other commenters asked the Department to include arthritis, 
neuropathy, and other examples of physical or mental impairments 
that could substantially impair a major life activity. The 
Department declines to add any other examples because, while it 
notes the value in clarifying the existence of impairments such as 
ADHD, it also recognizes that the regulation need not elaborate an 
inclusive list of all impairments, particularly those that are very 
prevalent, such as arthritis, or those that may be symptomatic of 
other underlying impairments already referenced in the list, such as 
neuropathy, which may be caused by cancer or diabetes. The list is 
merely illustrative and not exhaustive. The regulations clearly 
state that the phrase ``physical or mental impairment'' includes, 
but is not limited to'' the examples provided. No negative 
implications should be drawn from the omission of any specific 
impairment in Sec. Sec.  35.108(b) and 36.105(b).
    The Department notes that it is important to distinguish between 
conditions that are impairments and physical, environmental, 
cultural, or economic characteristics that are not impairments. The 
definition of the term ``impairment'' does not include physical 
characteristics such as eye color, hair color, or left-handedness, 
or height, weight, or muscle tone that are within ``normal'' range. 
Moreover, conditions that are not themselves physiological 
disorders, such as pregnancy, are not impairments. However, even if 
an underlying condition or characteristic is not itself a physical 
or mental impairment, it may give rise to a physical or mental 
impairment that substantially limits a major life activity. In such 
a case, an individual would be able to establish coverage under the 
ADA. For example, while pregnancy itself is not an impairment, a 
pregnancy-related impairment that substantially limits a major life 
activity will constitute a disability under the first prong of the 
definition.\4\ Major life activities that might be substantially 
limited by pregnancy-related impairments could include walking, 
standing, and lifting, as well as major bodily functions such as the 
musculoskeletal, neurological, cardiovascular, circulatory, 
endocrine, and reproductive functions. Alternatively, a pregnancy-
related impairment may constitute a ``record of'' a substantially 
limiting impairment, or may be covered under the ``regarded as'' 
prong if it is the basis for a prohibited action and is not both 
``transitory and minor.''
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \4\ Pregnancy-related impairments may include, but are not 
limited to: Disorders of the uterus and cervix, such as insufficient 
cervix or uterine fibroids; and pregnancy-related anemia, sciatica, 
carpal tunnel syndrome, gestational diabetes, nausea, abnormal heart 
rhythms, limited circulation, or depression. See EEOC Enforcement 
Guidance on Pregnancy Discrimination and Related Issues, EEOC Notice 
915.003, June 25, 2015, available at https://www.eeoc.gov/laws/guidance/pregnancy_guidance.cfm (last visited Feb. 3, 2016).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sections 35.108(c) and 36.105(c)--Major Life Activities

    Prior to the passage of the ADA Amendments Act, the ADA did not 
define ``major life activities,'' leaving delineation of 
illustrative examples to agency regulations. Paragraph 2 of the 
definition of ``disability'' in the Department's current title II 
and title III regulations at 28 CFR 35.104 and 36.104 states that 
``major life activities'' means functions such as caring for one's 
self, performing manual tasks, walking, seeing, hearing, speaking, 
breathing, learning, and working.
    The ADA Amendments Act significantly expanded the range of major 
life activities by directing that ``major'' be interpreted in a more 
expansive fashion, by adding a significant new category of major 
life activities, and by providing non-exhaustive

[[Page 53228]]

lists of examples of major life activities. The amended statute's 
first list of major life activities includes, but is not limited to, 
``caring for oneself, performing manual tasks, seeing, hearing, 
eating, sleeping, walking, standing, lifting, bending, speaking, 
breathing, learning, reading, concentrating, thinking, 
communicating, and working.'' 42 U.S.C. 12102(2)(A). The ADA 
Amendments Act also broadened the definition of ``major life 
activity'' to include physical or mental impairments that 
substantially limit the operation of a ``major bodily function,'' 
which include, but are not limited to, the ``functions of the immune 
system, normal cell growth, digestive, bowel, bladder, neurological, 
brain, respiratory, circulatory, endocrine, and reproductive 
functions.'' 42 U.S.C. 12102(2)(B). These expanded lists of examples 
of major life activities reflect Congress's directive to expand the 
meaning of the term ``major'' in response to court decisions that 
interpreted the term more narrowly than Congress intended. See 
Public Law 110-25, sec. 3 (b)(4).

Examples of Major Life Activities, Other Than the Operations of a 
Major Bodily Function

    In the NPRM, at Sec. Sec.  35.108(c) and 36.105(c), the 
Department proposed revisions of the title II and title III lists of 
examples of major life activities (other than the operations of a 
major bodily function) to incorporate all of the statutory examples, 
as well as to provide additional examples included in the EEOC title 
I final regulation--reaching, sitting, and interacting with others. 
See 29 CFR 1630.2(i)(1)(i).
    A number of commenters representing persons with disabilities or 
the elderly recommended that the Department add a wide variety of 
other activities to this first list. Some commenters asked the 
Department to include references to test taking, writing, typing, 
keyboarding, or executive function.\5\ Several commenters asked the 
Department to include other activities as well, such as the ability 
to engage in sexual activity, perform mathematical calculations, 
travel, or drive. One commenter asked the Department to recognize 
that, depending upon where people live, other life activities may 
fall within the category of major life activities. This commenter 
asserted, for example, that tending livestock or operating farm 
equipment can be a major life activity in a farming or ranching 
community, and that maintaining septic, well or water systems, or 
gardening, composting, or hunting may be a major life activity in a 
rural community.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \5\ ``Executive function'' is an umbrella term that has been 
described as referring to ``a constellation of cognitive abilities 
that include the ability to plan, organize, and sequence tasks and 
manage multiple tasks simultaneously.'' See, e.g. National Institute 
of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, Domain Specific Tasks of 
Executive Functions, available at grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-NS-04-012.html (last visited Feb. 3, 2016).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    On consideration of the legislative history and the relevant 
public comments, the Department decided to include ``writing'' as an 
additional example in its non-exhaustive list of examples of major 
life activities in the final rule. The Department notes Congress 
repeatedly stressed that writing is one of the major life activities 
that is often affected by a covered learning disability. See, e.g., 
154 Cong. Rec. S8842 (daily ed. Sept. 16, 2008) (Statement of the 
Managers); H.R. Rep. No. 110-730 pt. 1, at 10-11 (2008).
    Other than ``writing,'' the Department declines to add 
additional examples of major life activities to these provisions in 
the final rule. This list is illustrative, and the Department 
believes that it is neither necessary nor possible to list every 
major life activity. Moreover, the Department notes that many of the 
commenters' suggested inclusions implicate life activities already 
included on the list. For example, although, as commenters pointed 
out, some courts have concluded that test taking is a major life 
activity,\6\ the Department notes that one or more already-included 
major life activities--such as reading, writing, concentrating, or 
thinking, among others--will virtually always be implicated in test 
taking. Similarly, activities such as operating farm equipment, or 
maintaining a septic or well system, implicate already-listed major 
life activities such as reaching, lifting, bending, walking, 
standing, and performing manual tasks.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \6\ In Bartlett v. N.Y. State Bd. of Law Exam'rs, 970 F. Supp. 
1094, 1117 (S.D.N.Y. 1997), aff'd in part and vacated in part, 156 
F.3d 321 (2d Cir. 1998), cert. granted, judgment vacated on other 
grounds, 527 U.S. 1031 (1999), and aff'd in part, vacated in part, 
226 F.3d 69 (2d Cir. 2000), then-Judge Sotomayor stated, ``[I]n the 
modern era, where test-taking begins in the first grade, and 
standardized tests are a regular and often life-altering occurrence 
thereafter, both in school and at work, I find test-taking is within 
the ambit of `major life activity.' '' See also Rawdin v. American 
Bd. of Pediatrics, 985 F. Supp. 2d 636 (E.D. Pa. 2013), aff'd. on 
other grounds, 2014 U.S. App. LEXIS 17002 (3d Cir. Sept. 3, 2014).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The commenters' suggested additions also implicate the 
operations of various bodily systems that may already be recognized 
as major life activities. See discussion of Sec. Sec.  
35.108(c)(1)(ii) and 36.105(c)(1)(ii), below. For example, it is the 
Department's view that individuals who have cognitive or other 
impairments that affect the range of abilities that are often 
described as part of ``executive function'' will likely be able to 
assert that they have impairments that substantially limit brain 
function, which is one of the major bodily functions listed among 
the examples of major life activities.

Examples of Major Life Activities--Operations of a Major Bodily 
Function

    In the NPRM, the Department proposed revising the regulatory 
definitions of disability at Sec. Sec.  35.108(c)(1)(ii) and 
36.105(c)(1)(ii) to make clear that the operations of major bodily 
functions are major life activities, and to include a non-exhaustive 
list of examples of major bodily functions, consistent with the 
language of the ADA as amended. Because the statutory list is non-
exhaustive, the Department also proposed further expanding the list 
to include the following examples of major bodily functions: The 
functions of the special sense organs and skin, genitourinary, 
cardiovascular, hemic, lymphatic, and musculoskeletal systems. These 
six major bodily functions also are specified in the EEOC title I 
final regulation. 29 CFR 1630.2(i)(1)(i).
    One commenter objected to the Department's inclusion of 
additional examples of major life activities in both these lists, 
suggesting that the Department include only those activities and 
conditions specifically set forth in the ADA as amended. The 
Department believes that providing other examples of major life 
activities, including major bodily functions, is within the Attorney 
General's authority to both interpret titles II and III of the ADA 
and promulgate implementing regulations and that these examples 
provide helpful guidance to the public. Therefore, the Department 
declines to limit its lists of major life activities to those 
specified in the statute. Further, the Department notes that even 
the expanded lists of major life activities and major bodily 
functions are illustrative and non-exhaustive. The absence of a 
particular life activity or bodily function from the list should not 
create a negative implication as to whether such activity or 
function constitutes a major life activity under the statute or the 
implementing regulation.

Rules of Construction for Major Life Activities

    In the NPRM, proposed Sec. Sec.  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.

Sections 35.108(d)(1) and 36.105(d)(1)--Substantially Limits

    Overview. The ADA as amended directs that the term 
``substantially limits'' shall be ``interpreted consistently with 
the findings and purposes of the ADA Amendments Act.'' 42 U.S.C. 
12102(4)(B). See also Findings and Purposes of the ADA Amendments 
Act, Public Law 110-325, sec. 2(a)-(b). In the

[[Page 53229]]

NPRM, the Department proposed to add nine rules of construction at 
Sec. Sec.  35.108(d) and 36.105(d) clarifying how to interpret the 
meaning of ``substantially limits'' when determining whether an 
individual's impairment substantially limits a major life activity. 
These rules of construction are based on the requirements of the ADA 
as amended and the clear mandates of the legislative history. Due to 
the insertion of the rules of construction, these provisions are 
renumbered in the final rule.

Sections 35.108(d)(1)(i) and 36.105(d)(1)(i)--Broad Construction, 
Not a Demanding Standard

    In accordance with Congress's overarching directive to construe 
the term ``disability'' broadly, see 42 U.S.C. 12102(4)(A), the 
Department, in its NPRM, proposed Sec. Sec.  35.108(d)(1)(i) and 
36.105(d)(1)(i), which state: ``The term `substantially limits' 
shall be construed broadly in favor of expansive coverage, to the 
maximum extent permitted by the terms of the ADA.'' These provisions 
are also rooted in the Findings and Purposes of the ADA Amendments 
Act, in which Congress instructed that ``the question of whether an 
individual's impairment is a disability under the ADA should not 
demand extensive analysis.'' See Public Law 110-325, sec. 2(b)(1), 
(4)-(5).
    Several commenters on these provisions supported the 
Department's proposal to include these rules of construction, noting 
that they were in keeping with both the statutory language and 
Congress's intent to broaden the definition of ``disability'' and 
restore expansive protection under the ADA. Some of these commenters 
stated that, even after the passage of the ADA Amendments Act, some 
covered entities continued to apply a narrow definition of 
``disability.''
    Other commenters expressed concerns that the proposed language 
would undermine congressional intent by weakening the meaning of the 
word ``substantial.'' One of these commenters asked the Department 
to define the term ``substantially limited'' to include an element 
of materiality, while other commenters objected to the breadth of 
these provisions and argued that it would make the pool of people 
who might claim disabilities too large, allowing those without 
substantial limitations to be afforded protections under the law. 
Another commenter expressed concern about the application of the 
regulatory language to the diagnosis of learning disabilities and 
ADHD.
    The Department considered all of these comments and declines to 
provide a definition of the term ``substantially limits'' or make 
any other changes to these provisions in the final rule. The 
Department notes that Congress considered and expressly rejected 
including language defining the term ``substantially limits'': ``We 
have concluded that adopting a new, undefined term that is subject 
to widely disparate meanings is not the best way to achieve the goal 
of ensuring consistent and appropriately broad coverage under this 
Act. The resulting need for further judicial scrutiny and 
construction will not help move the focus from the threshold issue 
of disability to the primary issue of discrimination.'' 154 Cong. 
Rec. S8441. (daily ed. Sept. 16, 2008) (Statement of the Managers).
    The Department believes that the nine rules of construction 
interpreting the term ``substantially limits'' provide ample 
guidance on determining whether an impairment substantially limits a 
major life activity and are sufficient to ensure that covered 
entities will be able to understand and apply Congress's intentions 
with respect to the breadth of the definition of ``disability.''
    Moreover, the commenters' arguments that these provisions would 
undermine congressional intent are unsupported. To the contrary, 
Congress clearly intended the ADA Amendments Act to expand coverage: 
``The managers have introduced the ADA Amendments Act of 2008 to 
restore the proper balance and application of the ADA by clarifying 
and broadening the definition of disability, and to increase 
eligibility for the protections of the ADA. It is our expectation 
that because this bill makes the definition of disability more 
generous, some people who were not covered before will now be 
covered.'' 154 Cong. Rec. S8441 (daily ed. Sept. 16, 2008) 
(Statement of the Managers).
    The Department has also considered the comments expressed about 
the interplay between the proposed regulatory language and the 
diagnosis of learning disabilities and ADHD disorders. The 
Department believes that the revised definition of ``disability,'' 
including, in particular, the provisions construing ``substantially 
limits,'' strikes the appropriate balance to effectuate Congress's 
intent when it passed the ADA Amendments Act, and will not modify 
its regulatory language in response to these comments.

Sections 35.108(d)(1)(ii) and 36.105(d)(1)(ii)--Primary Object of 
ADA Cases

    In the ADA Amendments Act, Congress directed that rules of 
construction should ensure that ``substantially limits'' is 
construed in accordance with the findings and purposes of the 
statute. See 42 U.S.C. 12102(4)(B). One of the purposes of the Act 
was to convey that ``the primary object of attention in cases 
brought under the ADA should be whether entities covered under the 
ADA have complied with the obligations and to convey that the 
question of whether an individuals' impairment is a disability 
should not demand extensive analysis.'' Public Law 110-325, sec. 
2(b)(5). The legislative history clarifies that: ``Through this 
broad mandate [of the ADA], Congress sought to protect anyone who is 
treated less favorably because of a current, past, or perceived 
disability. Congress did not intend for the threshold question of 
disability to be used as a means of excluding individuals from 
coverage. Nevertheless, as the courts began interpreting and 
applying the definition of disability strictly, individuals have 
been excluded from the protections that the ADA affords because they 
are unable to meet the demanding judicially imposed standard for 
qualifying as disabled.''). H.R. Rep. No. 110-730, pt. 2, at 5 
(2008) (House Committee on the Judiciary).
    In keeping with Congress's intent and the language of the ADA 
Amendments Act, the rules of construction at proposed Sec. Sec.  
35.108(d)(1)(iii) and 36.105(d)(1)(iii) make clear that the primary 
object of attention in ADA cases should be whether public or other 
covered entities have complied with their obligations and whether 
discrimination has occurred, not the extent to which an individual's 
impairment substantially limits a major life activity. In 
particular, the threshold issue of whether an impairment 
substantially limits a major life activity should not demand 
extensive analysis.
    A number of commenters expressed support for these rules of 
construction, noting that they reinforced Congress's intent in 
ensuring that the primary focus will be on compliance. Several 
commenters objected to the use of the word ``cases'' in these 
provisions, stating that it lacked clarity. The word ``cases'' 
tracks the language of the ADA Amendments Act and the Department 
declines to change the term.
    A few commenters objected to these provisions because they 
believed that the language would be used to supersede or otherwise 
change the required analysis of requests for reasonable 
modifications or testing accommodations. See 28 CFR 35.130(b)(7), 
36.302, 36.309. The Department disagrees with these commenters. 
These rules of construction relate only to the determination of 
coverage under the ADA. They do not change the analysis of whether a 
discriminatory act has taken place, including the determination as 
to whether an individual is entitled to a reasonable modification or 
testing accommodation. See discussion of Sec. Sec.  
35.108(d)(1)(vii) and 36.105(d)(1)(vii) below.
    The Department retained the language of these rules of 
construction in the final rule except that in the title III 
regulatory text it has changed the reference from ``covered entity'' 
to ``public accommodation.'' The Department also renumbered these 
provisions as Sec. Sec.  35.108(d)(1)(ii) and 36.105(d)(1)(ii).

Sections 35.108(d)(1)(iii) and 36.105(d)(1)(iii)--Impairment Need 
Not Substantially Limit More Than One Major Life Activity

    Proposed Sec. Sec.  35.108(d)(1)(viii) and 36.105(d)(1)(viii) 
stated that ``[a]n impairment that substantially limits one major 
life activity need not substantially limit other major life 
activities in order to be considered a substantially limiting 
impairment.'' See 42 U.S.C. 12102(4)(C). This language reflected the 
statutory intent to reject court decisions that had required 
individuals to show that an impairment substantially limits more 
than one major life activity. See 154 Cong. Rec. S8841-44 (daily ed. 
Sept. 16, 2008) (Statement of the Managers). Applying this 
principle, for example, an individual seeking to establish coverage 
under the ADA need not show a substantial limitation in the ability 
to learn if that individual is substantially limited in another 
major life activity, such as walking, or the functioning of the 
nervous or endocrine systems. The proposed rule also was intended to 
clarify that the ability to perform one or more particular tasks 
within a broad category of activities does not

[[Page 53230]]

preclude coverage under the ADA. See H.R. Rep. No. 110-730, pt. 2, 
at 19 & n.52 (2008) (House Committee on the Judiciary). For 
instance, an individual with cerebral palsy could have a capacity to 
perform certain manual tasks yet nonetheless show a substantial 
limitation in the ability to perform a ``broad range'' of manual 
tasks.
    The Department received one comment specifically supporting this 
provision and none opposing it. The Department is retaining this 
language in the final rule although it is renumbered and is found at 
Sec. Sec.  35.108(d)(1)(iii) and 36.105(d)(1)(iii).

Sections 35.108(d)(1)(iv) and 36.105(d)(1)(iv)--Impairments That 
Are Episodic or in Remission

    The ADA as amended provides that ``an impairment that is 
episodic or in remission is a disability if it would substantially 
limit a major life activity when active.''
    42 U.S.C. 12102(4)(D). In the NPRM, the Department proposed 
Sec. Sec.  35.108(d)(1)(vii) and 36.105(d)(1)(vii) to directly 
incorporate this language. These provisions are intended to reject 
the reasoning of court decisions concluding that certain individuals 
with certain conditions--such as epilepsy or post traumatic stress 
disorder--were not protected by the ADA because their conditions 
were episodic or intermittent. The legislative history provides that 
``[t]his . . . rule of construction thus rejects the reasoning of 
the courts in cases like Todd v. Academy Corp.
    [57 F. Supp. 2d 448, 453 (S.D. Tex. 1999)] where the court found 
that the plaintiff's epilepsy, which resulted in short seizures 
during which the plaintiff was unable to speak and experienced 
tremors, was not sufficiently limiting, at least in part because 
those seizures occurred episodically. It similarly rejects the 
results reached in cases [such as Pimental v. Dartmouth-Hitchcock 
Clinic, 236 F. Supp. 2d 177, 182-83 (D.N.H. 2002)] where the courts 
have discounted the impact of an impairment [such as cancer] that 
may be in remission as too short-lived to be substantially limiting. 
It is thus expected that individuals with impairments that are 
episodic or in remission (e.g., epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, 
cancer) will be able to establish coverage if, when active, the 
impairment or the manner in which it manifests (e.g., seizures) 
substantially limits a major life activity.'' H.R. Rep. No. 110-730, 
pt. 2, at 19-20 (2008) (House Committee on the Judiciary).
    Some examples of impairments that may be episodic include 
hypertension, diabetes, asthma, major depressive disorder, bipolar 
disorder, and schizophrenia. The fact that the periods during which 
an episodic impairment is active and substantially limits a major 
life activity may be brief or occur infrequently is no longer 
relevant to determining whether the impairment substantially limits 
a major life activity. For example, a person with post-traumatic 
stress disorder who experiences intermittent flashbacks to traumatic 
events is substantially limited in brain function and thinking.
    The Department received three comments in response to these 
provisions. Two commenters supported this provision and one 
commenter questioned about how school systems should provide 
reasonable modifications to students with disabilities that are 
episodic or in remission. As discussed elsewhere in this guidance, 
the determination of what is an appropriate modification is separate 
and distinct from the determination of whether an individual is 
covered by the ADA, and the Department will not modify its 
regulatory language in response to this comment.

Sections 35.108(d)(1)(v) and 36.105(d)(1)(v)--Comparisons to Most 
People in the Population, and Impairment Need Not Prevent or 
Significantly or Severely Restrict a Major Life Activity

    In the legislative history of the ADA Amendments Act, Congress 
explicitly recognized that it had always intended that 
determinations of whether an impairment substantially limits a major 
life activity should be based on a comparison to most people in the 
population. The Senate Managers Report approvingly referenced the 
discussion of this requirement in the committee report from 1989. 
See 154 Cong. Rec. S8842 (daily ed. Sept. 16, 2008) (Statement of 
the Managers) (citing S. Rep. No. 101-116, at 23 (1989)). The 
preamble to the Department's 1990 title II and title III regulations 
also referenced that the impact of an individual's impairment should 
be based on a comparison to most people. See 56 FR 35694, 35699 
(July 26, 1991).
    Consistent with its longstanding intent, Congress directed, in 
the ADA Amendments Act, that disability determinations ``should not 
demand extensive analysis'' and that impairments do not need to rise 
to the level of ``prevent[ing] or severely restrict[ing] the 
individual from doing activities that are of central importance to 
most people's daily lives.'' See Public Law 110-325, sec. 2(b)(4)-
(5). In giving this direction, Congress sought to correct the 
standard that courts were applying to determinations of disability 
after Toyota, which had created ``a situation in which physical or 
mental impairments that would previously have been found to 
constitute disabilities are not considered disabilities under the 
Supreme Court's narrower standard.'' 154 Cong. Rec. S8840-8841 
(daily ed. Sept. 16, 2008) (Statement of the Managers). The ADA 
Amendments Act thus abrogates Toyota's holding by mandating that 
``substantially limited'' must no longer create ``an inappropriately 
high level of limitation.'' See Public Law 110-325, sec. 2(b)(4)-(5) 
and 42 U.S.C. 12102(4)(B). For example, an individual with carpal 
tunnel syndrome, a physical impairment, can demonstrate that the 
impairment substantially limits the major life activity of writing 
even if the impairment does not prevent or severely restrict the 
individual from writing.
    Accordingly, proposed Sec. Sec.  35.108(d)(1)(ii) and 
36.105(d)(1)(ii) state that an impairment is a disability if it 
substantially limits the ability of an individual to perform a major 
life activity as compared to most people in the general population. 
However, an impairment does not need to prevent, or significantly or 
severely restrict, an individual from performing a major life 
activity in order to be substantially limiting. The proposed 
language in the NPRM was rooted in the corrective nature of the ADA 
Amendments Act and its explicit rejection of the strict standards 
imposed under Toyota and its progeny. See Public Law 110-325, sec. 
2(b)(4).
    The Department received several comments on these provisions, 
none of which recommended modification of the regulatory language. A 
few commenters raised concerns that are further addressed in the 
``Condition, manner, or duration'' section below, regarding the 
Department's inclusion in the NPRM preamble of a reference to 
possibly using similarly situated individuals as the basis of 
comparison. The Department has removed this discussion and clarified 
that it does not endorse reliance on similarly situated individuals 
to demonstrate substantial limitations. For example, the Department 
recognizes that when determining whether an elderly person is 
substantially limited in a major life activity, the proper 
comparison is most people in the general population, and not 
similarly situated elderly individuals. Similarly, someone with ADHD 
should be compared to most people in the general population, most of 
whom do not have ADHD. Other commenters expressed interest in the 
possibility that, in some cases, evidence to support an assertion 
that someone has an impairment might simultaneously be used to 
demonstrate that the impairment is substantially limiting. These 
commenters approvingly referenced the EEOC's interpretive guidance 
for its ADA Amendments Act regulation, which provided an example of 
an individual with a learning disability. See 76 FR 16978, 17009 
(Mar. 25, 2011). In that example, evidence gathered to demonstrate 
the impairment of a learning disability showed a discrepancy between 
the person's age, measured intelligence, and education and that 
person's actual versus expected achievement. The EEOC noted that 
such individuals also likely would be able to demonstrate 
substantial limitations caused by that impairment to the major life 
activities of learning, reading, or thinking, when compared to most 
people in the general population, especially when the ameliorative 
effects of mitigating measures were set aside. The Department 
concurs with this view.
    Finally, the Department added an explicit statement recognizing 
that not every impairment will constitute a disability within the 
meaning of the section. This language echoes the Senate Statement of 
Managers, which clarified that: ``[N]ot every individual with a 
physical or mental impairment is covered by the first prong of the 
definition of disability in the ADA. An impairment that does not 
substantially limit a major life activity is not a disability under 
this prong.'' 154 Cong. Rec. S8841 (daily ed. Sept. 16, 2008) 
(Statement of the Managers).

Sections 35.108(d)(1)(vi) and 36.105(d)(1)(vi)--``Substantially 
Limits'' Shall Be Interpreted To Require a Lesser Degree of 
Functional Limitation Than That Required Prior to the ADA 
Amendments Act

    In the NPRM, proposed Sec. Sec.  35.108(d)(1)(iv) and 
36.105(d)(1)(iv) state that determining

[[Page 53231]]

whether an impairment substantially limits a major life activity 
requires an individualized assessment. But, the interpretation and 
application of the term ``substantially limits'' for this assessment 
requires a lower degree of functional limitation than the standard 
applied prior to the ADA Amendments Act.
    These rules of construction reflect Congress's concern that 
prior to the adoption of the ADA Amendments Act, courts were using 
too high a standard to determine whether an impairment substantially 
limited a major life activity. See Public Law 110-325, sec. 2(b)(4)-
(5); see also 154 Cong. Rec. S8841 (daily ed. Sept. 16, 2008) 
(Statement of the Managers) (``This bill lowers the standard for 
determining whether an impairment constitute[s] a disability and 
reaffirms the intent of Congress that the definition of disability 
in the ADA is to be interpreted broadly and inclusively.'').
    The Department received no comments on these provisions. The 
text of these provisions is unchanged in the final rule, although 
they have been renumbered as Sec. Sec.  35.108(d)(1)(vi) and 
36.105(d)(1)(vi).

Sections Sec. Sec.  35.108(d)(1)(vii) and 36.105(d)(1)(vii)--
Comparison of Individual's Performance of Major Life Activity 
Usually Will Not Require Scientific, Medical, or Statistical 
Analysis

    In the NPRM, the Department proposed at Sec. Sec.  
35.108(d)(1)(v) and 36.105(d)(1)(v) rules of construction making 
clear that the comparison of an individual's performance of a major 
life activity to that of most people in the general population 
usually will not require scientific, medical, or statistical 
evidence. However, this rule is not intended to prohibit or limit 
the use of scientific, medical, or statistical evidence in making 
such a comparison where appropriate.
    These rules of construction reflect Congress's rejection of the 
demanding standards of proof imposed upon individuals with 
disabilities who tried to assert coverage under the ADA prior to the 
adoption of the ADA Amendments Act. In passing the Act, Congress 
rejected the idea that the disability determination should be ``an 
onerous burden for those seeking accommodations or modifications.'' 
See 154 Cong. Rec. S8842 (daily ed. Sept. 16, 2008) (Statement of 
the Managers). These rules make clear that in most cases, people 
with impairments will not need to present scientific, medical, or 
statistical evidence to support their assertion that an impairment 
is substantially limiting compared to most people in the general 
population. Instead, other types of evidence that are less onerous 
to collect, such as statements or affidavits of affected 
individuals, school records, or determinations of disability status 
under other statutes, should, in most cases, be considered adequate 
to establish that an impairment is substantially limiting. The 
Department's proposed language reflected Congress's intent to ensure 
that individuals with disabilities are not precluded from seeking 
protection under the ADA because of an overbroad, burdensome, and 
generally unnecessary requirement.
    The Department received several comments in support of these 
provisions and a number of comments opposing all or part of them. 
One commenter representing individuals with disabilities expressed 
support for the proposed language, noting that ``[m]any people with 
disabilities have limited resources and requiring them to hire an 
expert witness to confirm their disability would pose an 
insurmountable barrier that could prevent them from pursuing their 
ADA cases.''
    Commenters representing testing entities objected to this 
language arguing that they needed scientific, medical, or 
statistical evidence in order to determine whether an individual has 
a learning disability or ADHD. These commenters argued that, unlike 
other disabilities, assessment of learning disabilities and ADHD 
require scientific, medical, or statistical evidence because such 
disabilities have no overt symptoms, cannot be readily observed, and 
lack medical or scientific verifiability. One commenter stated that 
the proposed language ``favor[s] expedience over evidence-based 
guidance.''
    In opposing these provisions, these commenters appear to 
conflate proof of the existence of an impairment with the analysis 
of how an impairment substantially limits a major life activity. 
These provisions address only how to evaluate whether an impairment 
substantially limits a major life activity, and the Department's 
proposed language appropriately reflects Congress's intent to ensure 
that individuals with disabilities are not precluded from seeking 
protection under the ADA because of overbroad, burdensome, and 
generally unnecessary evidentiary requirements. Moreover, the 
Department disagrees with the commenters' suggestion that an 
individual with ADHD or a specific learning disability can never 
demonstrate how the impairment substantially limits a major life 
activity without scientific, medical, or statistical evidence. 
Scientific, medical, or statistical evidence usually will not be 
necessary to determine whether an individual with a disability is 
substantially limited in a major life activity. However, as the rule 
notes, such evidence may be appropriate in some circumstances.
    One commenter suggested that the words ``where appropriate'' be 
deleted from these provisions in the final rule out of concern that 
they may be used to preclude individuals with disabilities from 
proffering scientific or medical evidence in support of a claim of 
coverage under the ADA. The Department disagrees with the 
commenter's reading of these provisions. Congress recognized that 
some people may choose to support their claim by presenting 
scientific or medical evidence and made clear that ``plaintiffs 
should not be constrained from offering evidence needed to establish 
that their impairment is substantially limiting.'' See 154 Cong. 
Rec. S8842 (daily ed. Sept. 16, 2008) (Statement of the Managers). 
The language ``where appropriate'' allows for those circumstances 
where an individual chooses to present such evidence, but makes 
clear that in most cases presentation of such evidence shall not be 
necessary.
    Finally, although the NPRM did not propose any changes with 
respect to the title III regulatory requirements applicable to the 
provision of testing accommodations at 28 CFR 36.309, one commenter 
requested revisions to Sec.  36.309 to acknowledge the changes to 
regulatory language in the definition of ``disability.'' Another 
commenter noted that the proposed changes to the regulatory 
definition of ``disability'' warrant new agency guidance on how the 
ADA applies to requests for testing accommodations.
    The Department does not consider it appropriate to include 
provisions related to testing accommodations in the definitional 
sections of the ADA regulations. The determination of disability, 
and thus coverage under the ADA, is governed by the statutory and 
regulatory definitions and the related rules of construction. Those 
provisions do not speak to what testing accommodations an individual 
with a disability is entitled to under the ADA nor to the related 
questions of what a testing entity may request or require from an 
individual with a disability who seeks testing accommodations. 
Testing entities' substantive obligations are governed by 42 U.S.C. 
12189 and the implementing regulation at 28 CFR 36.309. The 
implementing regulation clarifies that private entities offering 
covered examinations need to make sure that any request for required 
documentation is reasonable and limited to the need for the 
requested modification, accommodation, or auxiliary aid or service. 
Furthermore, when considering requests for modifications, 
accommodations, or auxiliary aids or services, the entity should 
give considerable weight to documentation of past modifications, 
accommodations, or auxiliary aids or services received in similar 
testing situations or provided in response to an Individualized 
Education Program (IEP) provided under the IDEA or a plan describing 
services provided under section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 
1973 (often referred as a Section 504 Plan).
    Contrary to the commenters' suggestions, there is no conflict 
between the regulation's definitional provisions and title III's 
testing accommodation provisions. The first addresses the core 
question of who is covered under the definition of ``disability,'' 
while the latter sets forth requirements related to documenting the 
need for particular testing accommodations. To the extent that 
testing entities are urging conflation of the analysis for 
establishing disability with that for determining required testing 
accommodations, such an approach would contradict the clear 
delineation in the statute between the determination of disability 
and the obligations that ensue.
    Accordingly, in the final rule, the text of these provisions is 
largely unchanged, except that the provisions are renumbered as 
Sec. Sec.  35.108(d)(1)(vii) and 36.108(d)(1)(vii), and the 
Department added ``the presentation of,'' in the second sentence, 
which was included in the corresponding provision of the EEOC final 
rule. See 29 CFR 1630.2(j)(1)(v).

Sections 35.108(d)(1)(viii) and 36.105(d)(1)(viii)--Determination 
Made Without Regard to the Ameliorative Effects of Mitigating 
Measures

    The ADA as amended expressly prohibits any consideration of the 
ameliorative effects

[[Page 53232]]

of mitigating measures when determining whether an individual's 
impairment substantially limits a major life activity, except for 
the ameliorative effects of ordinary eyeglasses or contact lenses. 
42 U.S.C. 12102(4)(E). The statute provides an illustrative, and 
non-exhaustive list of different types of mitigating measures. Id.
    In the NPRM, the Department proposed Sec. Sec.  35.108(d)(2)(vi) 
and 36.105(d)(2)(vi), which tracked the statutory language regarding 
consideration of mitigating measures. These provisions stated that 
the ameliorative effects of mitigating measures should not be 
considered when determining whether an impairment substantially 
limits a major life activity. However, the beneficial effects of 
ordinary eyeglasses or contact lenses should be considered when 
determining whether an impairment substantially limits a major life 
activity. Ordinary eyeglasses or contact lenses refer to lenses that 
are intended to fully correct visual acuity or to eliminate 
refractive errors. Proposed Sec. Sec.  35.108(d)(4) and 
36.105(d)(4), discussed below, set forth examples of mitigating 
measures.
    A number of commenters agreed with the Department's proposed 
language and no commenters objected. Some commenters, however, asked 
the Department to add language to these sections stating that, 
although the ameliorative effects of mitigating measures may not be 
considered in determining whether an individual has a covered 
disability, they may be considered in determining whether an 
individual is entitled to specific testing accommodations or 
reasonable modifications. The ADA Amendments Act revised the 
definition of ``disability'' and the Department agrees that the 
Act's prohibition on assessing the ameliorative effects of 
mitigating measures applies only to the determination of whether an 
individual meets the definition of ``disability.'' The Department 
declines to add the requested language, however, because it goes 
beyond the scope of this rulemaking by addressing ADA requirements 
that are not related to the definition of ``disability.'' These 
rules of construction do not apply to the requirements to provide 
reasonable modifications under Sec. Sec.  35.130(b)(7) and 36.302 or 
testing accommodations under Sec.  36.309 in the title III 
regulations. The Department disagrees that further clarification is 
needed at this point and declines to modify these provisions except 
that they are now renumbered as Sec. Sec.  35.108(d)(1)(viii) and 
Sec.  36.105(d)(1)(viii).
    The Department notes that in applying these rules of 
construction, evidence showing that an impairment would be 
substantially limiting in the absence of the ameliorative effects of 
mitigating measures could include evidence of limitations that a 
person experienced prior to using a mitigating measure or evidence 
concerning the expected course of a particular disorder absent 
mitigating measures.
    The determination of whether an individual's impairment 
substantially limits a major life activity is unaffected by an 
individual's choice to forgo mitigating measures. For individuals 
who do not use a mitigating measure (including, for example, 
medication or auxiliary aids and services that might alleviate the 
effects of an impairment), the availability of such measures has no 
bearing on whether the impairment substantially limits a major life 
activity. The limitations posed by the impairment on the individual 
and any negative (non-ameliorative) effects of mitigating measures 
will serve as the foundation for a determination of whether an 
impairment is substantially limiting. The origin of the impairment, 
whether its effects can be mitigated, and any ameliorative effects 
of mitigating measures that are employed may not be considered in 
determining if the impairment is substantially limiting.

Sections 35.108(d)(1)(ix) and 36.105(d)(1)(ix)--Impairment That 
Lasts Less Than Six Months Can Still Be a Disability Under First 
Two Prongs of the Definition

    In Sec. Sec.  35.108(d)(1)(ix) and 36.105(d)(1)(ix), the NPRM 
proposed rules of construction noting that the six-month 
``transitory'' part of the ``transitory and minor'' exception does 
not apply to the ``actual disability'' or ``record of'' prongs of 
the definition of ``disability.'' Even if an impairment may last or 
is expected to last six months or less, it can be substantially 
limiting.
    The ADA as amended provides that the ``regarded as'' prong of 
the definition of ``disability'' does ``not apply to impairments 
that are [both] transitory and minor.'' 42 U.S.C. 12102(3)(B). 
``Transitory impairment'' is defined as ``an impairment with an 
actual or expected duration of six months or less.'' Id. The statute 
does not define the term ``minor.'' Whether an impairment is both 
``transitory and minor'' is a question of fact that is dependent 
upon individual circumstances. The ADA as amended contains no such 
provision with respect to the first two prongs of the definition of 
``disability''--``actual disability,'' and ``record of'' disability. 
The application of the ``transitory and minor'' exception to the 
``regarded as'' prong is addressed in Sec. Sec.  35.108(f) and 
36.105(f).
    The Department received two comments on this proposed language. 
One commenter recommended that the Department delete this language 
and ``replace it with language clarifying that if a condition cannot 
meet the lower threshold of impairment under the third prong, it 
cannot meet the higher threshold of a disability under the first and 
second prongs.'' The Department declines to modify these provisions 
because the determination of whether an individual satisfies the 
requirements of a particular prong is not a comparative 
determination between the three means of demonstrating disability 
under the ADA. The Department believes that the suggested language 
would create confusion because there are significant differences 
between the first two prongs and the third prong. In addition, the 
Department believes its proposed language is in keeping with the ADA 
Amendments Act and the supporting legislative history.
    The other commenter suggested that the Department add language 
to provide greater clarity with respect to the application of the 
transitory and minor exception to the ``regarded as prong.'' The 
Department does not believe that additional language should be added 
to these rules of construction, which relate only to whether there 
is a six-month test for the first two prongs of the definition. As 
discussed below, the Department has revised both the regulatory text 
at Sec. Sec.  35.108(f) and 36.105(f) and its guidance on the 
application of the ``transitory and minor'' exception to the 
``regarded as'' prong. See discussion below.

Sections 35.108(d)(2) and 36.105(d)(2)--Predictable Assessments

    In the NPRM, proposed Sec. Sec.  35.108(d)(2) and 36.105(d)(2) 
set forth examples of impairments that should easily be found to 
substantially limit one or more major life activities. These 
provisions recognized that while there are no ``per se'' 
disabilities, for certain types of impairments the application of 
the various principles and rules of construction concerning the 
definition of ``disability'' to the individualized assessment would, 
in virtually all cases, result in the conclusion that the impairment 
substantially limits a major life activity. Thus, the necessary 
individualized assessment of coverage premised on these types of 
impairments should be particularly simple and straightforward. The 
purpose of the ``predictable assessments'' provisions is to simplify 
consideration of those disabilities that virtually always create 
substantial limitations to major life activities, thus satisfying 
the statute's directive to create clear, consistent, and enforceable 
standards and ensuring that the inquiry of ``whether an individual's 
impairment is a disability under the ADA should not demand extensive 
analysis.'' See Public Law 110-325, sec. 2(b)(1), (5). The 
impairments identified in the predictable assessments provision are 
a non-exhaustive list of examples of the kinds of disabilities that 
meet these criteria and, with one exception, are consistent with the 
corresponding provision in the EEOC ADA Amendments Act rule. See 29 
CFR 1630.2(j)(3)(iii).\7\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \7\ In the NPRM, the Department proposed adding ``traumatic 
brain injury'' to the predictable assessments list.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The Department believes that the predictable assessments 
provisions comport with the ADA Amendments Act's emphasis on 
adopting a less burdensome and more expansive definition of 
``disability.'' The provisions are rooted in the application of the 
statutory changes to the meaning and interpretation of the 
definition of ``disability'' contained in the ADA Amendments Act and 
flow from the rules of construction set forth in Sec. Sec.  
35.108(a)(2)(i), 36.105(a)(2)(i), 35.108(c)(2)(i) and (ii), 
36.105(c)(2)(i) and (ii). These rules of construction and other 
specific provisions require the broad construction of the definition 
of ``disability'' in favor of expansive coverage to the maximum 
extent permitted by the terms of the ADA. In addition, they lower 
the standard to be applied to ``substantially limits,'' making clear 
that an impairment need not prevent or significantly restrict an 
individual from performing a major life activity; clarify that major 
life activities include major bodily functions; elucidate that 
impairments that are

[[Page 53233]]

episodic or in remission are disabilities if they would be 
substantially limiting when active; and incorporate the requirement 
that the ameliorative effects of mitigating measures (other than 
ordinary eyeglasses or contact lenses) must be disregarded in 
assessing whether an individual has a disability.
    Several organizations representing persons with disabilities and 
the elderly, constituting the majority of commenters on these 
provisions, supported the inclusion of the predictable assessments 
provisions. One commenter expressed strong support for the provision 
and recommended that it closely track the corresponding provision in 
the EEOC title I rule, while another noted its value in streamlining 
individual assessments. In contrast, some commenters from 
educational institutions and testing entities recommended the 
deletion of these provisions, expressing concern that it implies the 
existence of ``per se'' disabilities, contrary to congressional 
intent that each assertion of disability should be considered on a 
case-by-case basis. The Department does not believe that the 
predictable assessment provisions constitutes a ``per se'' list of 
disabilities and will retain it. These provisions highlight, through 
a non-exhaustive list, impairments that virtually always will be 
found to substantially limit one or more major life activities. Such 
impairments still warrant individualized assessments, but any such 
assessments should be especially simple and straightforward.
    The legislative history of the ADA Amendments Act supports the 
Department's approach in this area. In crafting the Act, Congress 
hewed to the ADA definition of ``disability,'' which was modeled on 
the definition of ``disability'' in the Rehabilitation Act, and 
indicated that it wanted courts to interpret the definition as it 
had originally been construed. See H.R. Rep. No. 110-730, pt. 2, at 
6 (2008). Describing this goal, the legislative history states that 
courts had interpreted the Rehabilitation Act definition ``broadly 
to include persons with a wide range of physical and mental 
impairments such as epilepsy, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, and 
intellectual and developmental disabilities . . . even where a 
mitigating measure--like medication or a hearing aid--might lessen 
their impact on the individual.'' Id.; see also id. at 9 (referring 
to individuals with disabilities that had been covered under section 
504 of the Rehabilitation Act and that Congress intended to include 
under the ADA--``people with serious health conditions like 
epilepsy, diabetes, cancer, cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis, 
intellectual and developmental disabilities''); id. at 6, n.6 
(citing cases also finding that cerebral palsy, hearing impairments, 
intellectual disabilities, heart disease, and vision in only one eye 
were disabilities under the Rehabilitation Act); id. at 10 (citing 
testimony from Rep. Steny H. Hoyer, one of the original lead 
sponsors of the ADA in 1990, stating that ``[w]e could not have 
fathomed that people with diabetes, epilepsy, heart conditions, 
cancer, mental illnesses and other disabilities would have their ADA 
claims denied because they would be considered too functional to 
meet the definition of disability''); 2008 Senate Statement of 
Managers at 3 (explaining that ``we [we]re faced with a situation in 
which physical or mental impairments that would previously have been 
found to constitute disabilities [under the Rehabilitation Act] 
[we]re not considered disabilities'' and citing individuals with 
impairments such as amputation, intellectual disabilities, epilepsy, 
multiple sclerosis, diabetes, muscular dystrophy, and cancer as 
examples).
    Some commenters asked the Department to add certain impairments 
to the predictable assessments list, while others asked the 
Department to remove certain impairments. Commenters representing 
educational and testing institutions urged that, if the Department 
did not delete the predictable assessment provisions, then the list 
should be modified to remove any impairments that are not obvious or 
visible to third parties and those for which functional limitations 
can change over time. One commenter cited to a pre-ADA Amendments 
Act reasonable accommodations case, which included language 
regarding the uncertainty facing employers in determining 
appropriate reasonable accommodations when mental impairments often 
are not obvious and apparent to employers. See Wallin v. Minnesota 
Dep't of Corrections, 153 F.3d 681, 689 (8th Cir. 1998). This 
commenter suggested that certain impairments, including autism, 
depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and obsessive-compulsive 
disorder, should not be deemed predictable assessments because they 
are not immediately apparent to third parties. The Department 
disagrees with this commenter, and believes that it is appropriate 
to include these disabilities on the list of predictable 
assessments. Many disabilities are less obvious or may be invisible, 
such as cancer, diabetes, HIV infection, schizophrenia, intellectual 
disabilities, and traumatic brain injury, as well as those 
identified by the commenter. The likelihood that an impairment will 
substantially limit one or more major life activities is unrelated 
to whether or not the disability is immediately apparent to an 
outside observer. Therefore, the Department will retain the examples 
that involve less apparent disabilities on the list of predictable 
assessments.
    The Department believes that the list accurately illustrates 
impairments that virtually always will result in a substantial 
limitation of one or more major life activities. The Department 
recognizes that impairments are not always static and can result in 
different degrees of functional limitation at different times, 
particularly when mitigating measures are used. However, the ADA as 
amended anticipates variation in the extent to which impairments 
affect major life activities, clarifying that impairments that are 
episodic or in remission nonetheless are disabilities if they would 
be substantially limiting when active and requiring the 
consideration of disabilities without regard to ameliorative 
mitigating measures. The Department does not believe that limiting 
the scope of its provisions addressing predictable assessments only 
to those disabilities that would never vary in functional limitation 
would be appropriate.
    Other commenters speaking as individuals or representing persons 
with disabilities endorsed the inclusion of some impairments already 
on the list, including traumatic brain injury, sought the inclusion 
of additional impairments, requested revisions to some descriptions 
of impairments, or asked for changes to the examples of major life 
activities linked to specific impairments.
    Several commenters requested the expansion of the predictable 
assessments list, in particular to add specific learning 
disabilities. Some commenters pointed to the ADA Amendments Act's 
legislative history, which included Representative Stark's remarks 
that specific learning disabilities are ``neurologically based 
impairments that substantially limit the way these individuals 
perform major life activities, like reading or learning, or the time 
it takes to perform such activities.'' 154 Cong. Rec. H8291 (daily 
ed. Sept. 17, 2008). Others recommended that some specific types of 
specific learning disabilities, including dyslexia, dyscalculia, 
dysgraphia, dyspraxia, and slowed processing speed should be 
referenced as predictable assessments. With respect to the major 
life activities affected by specific learning disabilities, 
commenters noted that specific learning disabilities are 
neurologically based and substantially limit learning, thinking, 
reading, communicating, and processing speed.
    Similarly, commenters recommended the inclusion of ADHD, urging 
that it originates in the brain and affects executive function 
skills including organizing, planning, paying attention, regulating 
emotions, and self-monitoring. One commenter noted that if ADHD 
meets the criteria established in the DSM-5, then it would 
consistently meet the criteria to establish disability under the 
ADA. The same commenter noted that ADHD is brain based and affects 
the major life activity of executive function. Another commenter 
suggested that ADHD should be included and should be identified as 
limiting brain function, learning, reading, concentrating, thinking, 
communicating, interacting with others, and working. Other 
commenters urged the inclusion of panic disorders, anxiety disorder, 
cognitive disorder, and post-concussive disorder. A number of 
commenters noted that the exclusion of impairments from the 
predictable assessments list could be seen as supporting an 
inference that the impairments that are not mentioned should not 
easily be found to be disabilities.
    The Department determined that it will retain the language it 
proposed in the NPRM and will not add or remove any impairments from 
this list. As discussed above, the list is identical to the EEOC's 
predictable assessments list, at 29 CFR 1630.2(g)(3)(iii), except 
that the Department's NPRM added traumatic brain injury. The 
Department received support for including traumatic brain injury and 
did not receive any comments recommending the removal of traumatic 
brain injury from the list; thus, we are retaining it in this final 
rule.
    The Department's decision to track the EEOC's list, with one 
minor exception, stems in part from our intent to satisfy the 
congressional mandate for ``clear, strong,

[[Page 53234]]

consistent, enforceable standards.'' A number of courts already have 
productively applied the EEOC's predictable assessments provision, 
and the Department believes that it will continue to serve as a 
useful, common-sense tool in promoting judicial efficiency. It is 
important to note, however, that the failure to include any 
impairment in the list of examples of predictable assessments does 
not indicate that that impairment should be subject to undue 
scrutiny.
    Some commenters expressed concern about the major life 
activities that the Department attributed to particular impairments. 
Two commenters sought revision of the major life activities 
attributed to intellectual disabilities, suggesting that it would be 
more accurate to reference cognitive function and learning, instead 
of reading, learning, and problem solving. One commenter recommended 
attributing the major life activity of brain function to autism 
rather than learning, social interaction, and communicating. The 
Department determined that it will follow the EEOC's model and, with 
respect to both intellectual disabilities and autism, it will 
reference the major bodily function of brain function. By using the 
term ``brain function'' to describe the system affected by various 
mental impairments, the Department intends to capture functions such 
as the brain's ability to regulate thought processes and emotions.
    The Department considers it important to reiterate that, just as 
the list of impairments in these sections is not comprehensive, the 
list of major bodily functions or other major life activities linked 
to those impairments are not exhaustive. The impairments identified 
in these sections, may affect a wide range of major bodily functions 
and other major life activities. The Department's specification of 
certain major life activities with respect to particular impairments 
simply provides one avenue by which a person might elect to 
demonstrate that he or she has a disability.
    The Department recognizes that impairments listed in Sec. Sec.  
35.108(d)(2) and 36.105(d)(2) may substantially limit other major 
life activities in addition to those listed in the regulation. For 
example, diabetes may substantially limit major life activities 
including eating, sleeping, and thinking. Major depressive disorder 
may substantially limit major life activities such as thinking, 
concentrating, sleeping, and interacting with others. Multiple 
sclerosis may substantially limit major life activities such as 
walking, bending, and lifting.
    One commenter noted that the NPRM did not track the EEOC's 
language with respect to the manner in which it identified a major 
bodily function that is substantially limited by epilepsy, muscular 
dystrophy, or multiple sclerosis in 29 CFR 1630.2(j)(3)(iii). While 
the EEOC listed each of these three impairments individually, noting 
in each case that the major bodily function affected is neurological 
function, at 29 CFR 1630.2(j)(3)(iii), the NPRM grouped the three 
impairments and noted that they affect neurological function. In 
order to clarify that each of the three impairments may manifest a 
substantial limitation of neurological function, the final rule 
incorporates ``each'' immediately following the list of the three 
impairments. Similarly, the Department added an ``each'' to 
Sec. Sec.  35.108(d)(2)(iii)(K) and 36.105(d)(2)(iii)(K) to make 
clear that each of the listed impairments substantially limits brain 
function.
    Some commenters representing testing entities and educational 
institutions sought the insertion of language in the predictable 
assessment provisions that would indicate that individuals found to 
have disabilities are not, by virtue of a determination that they 
have a covered disability, eligible for a testing accommodation or a 
reasonable modification. The Department agrees with these commenters 
that the determination of disability is a distinct determination 
separate from the determination of the need for a requested 
modification or a testing accommodation. The Department declines to 
add the language suggested by the commenters to Sec. Sec.  
35.108(d)(2) and 36.105(d)(2), however, because the requirements for 
reasonable modifications are addressed separately in Sec. Sec.  
35.130(b)(7) and 36.302 of the title II and III regulations and the 
requirements related to providing appropriate accommodations in 
testing and licensing are found at Sec.  36.309.

Sections 35.108(d)(3) and 36.105(d)(3)--Condition, Manner, or 
Duration

    Overview. Proposed Sec. Sec.  35.108(d)(3) and 36.105(d)(3), 
both titled ``Condition, manner[,] and duration,'' addressed how 
evidence related to condition, manner, or duration may be used to 
show how impairments substantially limit major life activities. 
These principles were first addressed in the preamble to the 1991 
rule. At that time, the Department noted that ``[a] person is 
considered an individual with a disability . . . when the 
individual's important life activities are restricted as to the 
conditions, manner, or duration under which they can be performed in 
comparison to most people.'' 56 FR 35544, 35549 (July 26, 1991); see 
also S. Rep. No. 101-116, at 23 (1989).
    These concepts were affirmed by Congress in the legislative 
history to the ADA Amendments Act: ``We particularly believe that 
this test, which articulated an analysis that considered whether a 
person's activities are limited in condition, duration and manner, 
is a useful one. We reiterate that using the correct standard--one 
that is lower than the strict or demanding standard created by the 
Supreme Court in Toyota--will make the disability determination an 
appropriate threshold issue but not an onerous burden for those 
seeking accommodations or modifications. At the same time, 
plaintiffs should not be constrained from offering evidence needed 
to establish that their impairment is substantially limiting.'' 154 
Cong. Rec. S8346 (Sept. 11, 2008). Noting its continued reliance on 
the functional approach to defining disability, Congress expressed 
its belief that requiring consistency with the findings and purposes 
of the ADA Amendments Act would ``establish[ ] an appropriate 
functionality test for determining whether an individual has a 
disability.'' Id. While condition, manner, and duration are not 
required factors that must be considered, the regulations clarify 
that these are the types of factors that may be considered in 
appropriate cases. To the extent that such factors may be useful or 
relevant to show a substantial limitation in a particular fact 
pattern, some or all of them (and related facts) may be considered, 
but evidence relating to each of these factors often will not be 
necessary to establish coverage.
    In the NPRM, proposed Sec. Sec.  35.108(d)(3)(i) and 
35.105(d)(3)(i) noted that the rules of construction at Sec. Sec.  
35.108(d)(1) and 35.105(d)(1) should inform consideration of how 
individuals are substantially limited in major life activities. 
Sections 35.108(d)(3)(ii) and 36.105(d)(3)(ii) provided examples of 
how restrictions on condition, manner, or duration might be 
interpreted and also clarified that the negative or burdensome side 
effects of medication or other mitigating measures may be considered 
when determining whether an individual has a disability. In 
Sec. Sec.  35.108(d)(3)(iii) and 36.105(d)(3)(iii), the proposed 
language set forth a requirement to focus on how a major life 
activity is substantially limited, rather than on the ultimate 
outcome a person with an impairment can achieve.
    The Department received comments on the condition, manner, or 
duration provision from advocacy groups for individuals with 
disabilities, from academia, from education and testing entities, 
and from interested individuals. Several advocacy organizations for 
individuals with disabilities and private individuals noted that the 
section title's heading was inconsistent with the regulatory text 
and sought the replacement of the ``and'' in the section's title, 
``Condition, manner, and duration,'' with an ``or.'' Commenters 
expressed concern that retaining the ``and'' in the heading title 
would be inconsistent with congressional intent and would 
incorrectly suggest that individuals are subject to a three-part 
test and must demonstrate that an impairment substantially limits a 
major life activity with respect to condition, manner, and duration. 
The Department agrees that the ``and'' used in the title of the 
proposed regulatory provision could lead to confusion and a 
misapplication of the law and has revised the title so it now reads 
``Condition, manner, or duration.'' Consistent with the regulatory 
text, the revised heading makes clear that any one of the three 
descriptors--``condition,'' ``manner,'' or ``duration''--may aid in 
demonstrating that an impairment substantially limits a major life 
activity or a major bodily function.

Condition, Manner, or Duration

    In the NPRM, proposed Sec. Sec.  35.108(d)(3)(i) and 
36.105(d)(3)(i) noted that the application of the terms 
``condition'' ``manner,'' or ``duration'' should at all times take 
into account the principles in Sec.  35.108(d)(1) and Sec.  
36.105(d)(1), respectively, which referred to the rules of 
construction for ``substantially limited.'' The proposed regulatory 
text also included brief explanations of the meaning of the core 
terms, clarifying that in appropriate cases, it could be useful to 
consider, in comparison to most people in the general population, 
the conditions under which an individual performs a major life 
activity; the manner in which an individual performs a major life 
activity; or the time it takes an

[[Page 53235]]

individual to perform a major life activity, or for which the 
individual can perform a major life activity.
    Several disability rights advocacy groups and individuals 
supported the NPRM approach, with some referencing the value of 
pointing to the rules of construction and their relevance to 
condition, manner, or duration considerations. Some commenters noted 
that it was helpful to highlight congressional intent that the 
definition of ``disability'' should be broadly construed and not 
subject to extensive analysis. Another commenter recommended 
introducing a clarification that, while the limitation imposed by an 
impairment must be important, it does not need to rise to the level 
of severely or significantly restricting the ability to perform a 
major life activity. Some commenters sought additional guidance 
regarding the meaning of the terms ``condition,'' ``manner,'' and 
``duration'' and recommended the addition of more illustrative 
examples.
    In response to commenters' concerns, the Department has modified 
the regulatory text in Sec. Sec.  35.108(d)(3)(i) and 
36.105(d)(3)(i) to reference all of the rules of construction rather 
than only those pertaining to ``substantially limited.'' The 
Department also added Sec. Sec.  35.108(d)(3)(iv) and 
36.105(d)(3)(iv), further discussed below, to clarify that the rules 
of construction will not always require analysis of condition, 
manner, or duration, particularly with respect to certain 
impairments, such as those referenced in paragraph (d)(2)(iii) 
(predictable assessments). With these changes, the Department 
believes that the final rule more accurately reflects congressional 
intent. The Department also believes that clarifying the application 
of the rules of construction to condition, manner, or duration will 
contribute to consistent interpretation of the definition of 
``disability'' and reduce inadvertent reliance on older cases that 
incorporate demanding standards rejected by Congress in the ADA 
Amendments Act.
    It is the Department's view that the rules of construction offer 
substantial guidance about how condition, manner, or duration must 
be interpreted so as to ensure the expansive coverage intended by 
Congress. Except for this clarification, the Department did not 
receive comments opposing the proposed regulatory text on condition, 
manner, or duration in Sec. Sec.  35.108(d)(3)(i) and 
36.105(d)(3)(i) and did not make any other changes to these 
provisions.
    Some commenters objected to language in the preamble to the NPRM 
which suggested that there might be circumstances in which the 
consideration of condition, manner, or duration might not include 
comparisons to most people in the general population. On 
reconsideration, the Department recognizes that this discussion 
could create confusion about the requirements. The Department 
believes that condition, manner, or duration determinations should 
be drawn in contrast to most people in the general population, as is 
indicated in the related rules of construction, at Sec. Sec.  
35.108(d)(1)(v) and 36.105(d)(1)(v).

Condition, Manner, or Duration Examples, Including Negative Effects 
of Mitigating Measures

    Proposed Sec. Sec.  35.108(d)(3)(ii) and 36.105(d)(3)(ii) set 
forth examples of the types of evidence that might demonstrate 
condition, manner, or duration limitations, including the way an 
impairment affects the operation of a major bodily function, the 
difficulty or effort required to perform a major life activity, the 
pain experienced when performing a major life activity, and the 
length of time it takes to perform a major life activity. These 
provisions also clarified that the non-ameliorative effects of 
mitigating measures may be taken into account to demonstrate the 
impact of an impairment on a major life activity. The Department's 
discussion in the NPRM preamble noted that such non-ameliorative 
effects could include negative side effects of medicine, burdens 
associated with following a particular treatment regimen, and 
complications that arise from surgery, among others. The preamble 
also provided further clarification of the possible applications of 
condition, manner, or duration analyses, along with several 
examples. Several commenters supported the proposed rule's 
incorporation of language and examples offering insight into the 
varied ways that limitations on condition, manner, or duration could 
demonstrate substantial limitation. One commenter positively noted 
that the language regarding the ``difficulty, effort, or time 
required to perform a major life activity'' could prove extremely 
helpful to individuals asserting a need for testing accommodations, 
as evidence previously presented regarding these factors was deemed 
insufficient to demonstrate the existence of a disability. Some 
commenters requested the insertion of additional examples and 
explanation in the preamble about how condition, manner or duration 
principles could be applied under the new rules of construction. 
Another commenter sought guidance on the specific reference points 
that should be used when drawing comparisons with most people in the 
general population. The commenter offered the example of delays in 
developmental milestones as a possible referent in evaluating 
children with speech-language disorders, but noted a lack of 
guidance regarding comparable referents for adults. The commenter 
also noted that guidance is needed regarding what average or 
acceptable duration might be with respect to certain activities. An 
academic commenter expressed support for the Department's reference 
to individuals with learning impairments using certain self-
mitigating measures, such as extra time to study or taking an 
examination in a different format, and the relevance of these 
measures to condition, manner, and duration.
    The Department did not receive comments opposing the NPRM 
language on condition, manner, or duration in Sec. Sec.  
35.108(d)(3)(ii) and 36.105(d)(3)(ii) and is not making any changes 
to this language. The Department agrees that further explanation and 
examples as provided below regarding the concepts of condition, 
manner, or duration will help clarify how the ADA Amendments Act has 
expanded the definition of ``disability.'' An impairment may 
substantially limit the ``condition'' or ``manner'' in which a major 
life activity can be performed in a number of different ways. For 
example, the condition or manner in which a major life activity can 
be performed may refer to how an individual performs a major life 
activity; e.g., the condition or manner under which a person with an 
amputated hand performs manual tasks will likely be more cumbersome 
than the way that most people in the general population would 
perform the same tasks. Condition or manner also may describe how 
performance of a major life activity affects an individual with an 
impairment. For example, an individual whose impairment causes pain 
or fatigue that most people would not experience when performing 
that major life activity may be substantially limited. Thus, the 
condition or manner under which someone with coronary artery disease 
performs the major life activity of walking would be substantially 
limited if the individual experiences shortness of breath and 
fatigue when walking distances that most people could walk without 
experiencing such effects. An individual with specific learning 
disabilities may need to approach reading or writing in a distinct 
manner or under different conditions than most people in the general 
population, possibly employing aids including verbalizing, 
visualizing, decoding or phonology, such that the effort required 
could support a determination that the individual is substantially 
limited in the major life activity of reading or writing.
    Condition or manner may refer to the extent to which a major 
life activity, including a major bodily function, can be performed. 
In some cases, the condition or manner under which a major bodily 
function can be performed may be substantially limited when the 
impairment ``causes the operation [of the bodily function] to over-
produce or under-produce in some harmful fashion.'' See H.R. Rep. 
No. 110-730, pt. 2, at 17 (2008). For example, the endocrine system 
of a person with type I diabetes does not produce sufficient 
insulin. For that reason, compared to most people in the general 
population, the impairment of diabetes substantially limits the 
major bodily functions of endocrine function and digestion. 
Traumatic brain injury substantially limits the condition or manner 
in which an individual's brain functions by impeding memory and 
causing headaches, confusion, or fatigue--each of which could 
constitute a substantial limitation on the major bodily function of 
brain function.
    ``Duration'' refers to the length of time an individual can 
perform a major life activity or the length of time it takes an 
individual to perform a major life activity, as compared to most 
people in the general population. For example, a person whose back 
or leg impairment precludes him or her from standing for more than 
two hours without significant pain would be substantially limited in 
standing, because most people can stand for more than two hours 
without significant pain. However, ``[a] person who can walk for 10 
miles continuously is not substantially limited in walking merely 
because on the eleventh mile, he or she

[[Page 53236]]

begins to experience pain because most people would not be able to 
walk eleven miles without experiencing some discomfort.'' See 154 
Cong. Rec. S8842 (daily ed. Sept. 16, 2008) (Statement of the 
Managers) (quoting S. Rep. No. 101-116, at 23 (1989)). Some 
impairments, such as ADHD, may have two different types of impact on 
duration considerations. ADHD frequently affects both an ability to 
sustain focus for an extended period of time and the speed with 
which someone can process information. Each of these duration-
related concerns could demonstrate that someone with ADHD, as 
compared to most people in the general population, takes longer to 
complete major life activities such as reading, writing, 
concentrating, or learning.
    The Department reiterates that, because the limitations created 
by certain impairments are readily apparent, it would not be 
necessary in such cases to assess the negative side effects of a 
mitigating measure in determining that a particular impairment 
substantially limits a major life activity. For example, there 
likely would be no need to consider the burden that dialysis 
treatment imposes for someone with end-stage renal disease because 
the impairment would allow a simple and straightforward 
determination that the individual is substantially limited in kidney 
function.
    One commenter representing people with disabilities asked the 
Department to recognize that, particularly with respect to learning 
disabilities, on some occasions the facts related to condition, 
manner, or duration necessary to reach a diagnosis of a learning 
disability also are sufficient to establish that the affected 
individual has a disability under the ADA. The Department agrees 
that the facts gathered to establish a diagnosis of an impairment 
may simultaneously satisfy the requirements for demonstrating 
limitations on condition, manner, or duration sufficient to show 
that the impairment constitutes a disability.

Emphasis on Limitations Instead of Outcomes

    In passing the ADA Amendments Act, Congress clarified that 
courts had misinterpreted the ADA definition of ``disability'' by, 
among other things, inappropriately emphasizing the capabilities of 
people with disabilities to achieve certain outcomes. See 154 Cong. 
Rec. S8842 (daily ed. Sept. 16, 2008) (Statement of the Managers). 
For example, someone with a learning disability may achieve a high 
level of academic success, but may nevertheless be substantially 
limited in one or more of the major life activities of reading, 
writing, speaking, or learning because of the additional time or 
effort he or she must spend to read, speak, write, or learn compared 
to most people in the general population. As the House Education and 
Labor Committee Report emphasized:

    [S]ome courts have found that students who have reached a high 
level of academic achievement are not to be considered individuals 
with disabilities under the ADA, as such individuals may have 
difficulty demonstrating substantial limitation in the major life 
activities of learning or reading relative to ``most people.'' When 
considering the condition, manner or duration in which an individual 
with a specific learning disability performs a major life activity, 
it is critical to reject the assumption that an individual who 
performs well academically or otherwise cannot be substantially 
limited in activities such as learning, reading, writing, thinking, 
or speaking. As such, the Committee rejects the findings in Price v. 
National Board of Medical Examiners, Gonzales v. National Board of 
Medical Examiners, and Wong v. Regents of University of California.
    The Committee believes that the comparison of individuals with 
specific learning disabilities to ``most people'' is not problematic 
unto itself, but requires a careful analysis of the method and 
manner in which an individual's impairment limits a major life 
activity. For the majority of the population, the basic mechanics of 
reading and writing do not pose extraordinary lifelong challenges; 
rather, recognizing and forming letters and words are effortless, 
unconscious, automatic processes. Because specific learning 
disabilities are neurologically-based impairments, the process of 
reading for an individual with a reading disability (e.g., dyslexia) 
is word-by-word, and otherwise cumbersome, painful, deliberate and 
slow--throughout life. The Committee expects that individuals with 
specific learning disabilities that substantially limit a major life 
activity will be better protected under the amended Act.

H.R. Rep. No. 110-730 pt. 1, at 10-11 (2008).
    Sections 35.108(d)(3)(iii) and 36.105(d)(3)(iii) of the proposed 
rule reflected congressional intent and made clear that the outcome 
an individual with a disability is able to achieve is not 
determinative of whether an individual is substantially limited in a 
major life activity. Instead, an individual can demonstrate the 
extent to which an impairment affects the condition, manner, or 
duration in which the individual performs a major life activity, 
such that it constitutes a substantial limitation. The ultimate 
outcome of an individual's efforts should not undermine a claim of 
disability, even if the individual ultimately is able to achieve the 
same or similar result as someone without the impairment.
    The Department received several comments on these provisions, 
with disability organizations and individuals supporting the 
inclusion of these provisions and some testing entities and an 
organization representing educational institutions opposing them. 
The opponents argued that academic performance and testing outcomes 
are objective evidence that contradict findings of disability and 
that covered entities must be able to focus on those outcomes in 
order to demonstrate whether an impairment has contributed to a 
substantial limitation. These commenters argued that the evidence 
frequently offered by those making claims of disability that 
demonstrate the time or effort required to achieve a result, such as 
evidence of self-mitigating measures, informal accommodations, or 
recently provided reasonable modifications, is inherently subjective 
and unreliable. The testing entities suggested that the Department 
had indicated support for their interest in focusing on outcomes 
over process-related obstacles in the NPRM preamble language where 
the Department had noted that covered entities ``may defeat a 
showing of substantial limitation by refuting whatever evidence the 
individual seeking coverage has offered, or by offering evidence 
that shows that an impairment does not impose a substantial 
limitation on a major life activity.'' NPRM, 79 FR 4839, 4847-48 
(Jan. 30, 2014). The commenters representing educational 
institutions and testing entities urged the removal of Sec. Sec.  
35.108(d)(3)(iii) and 36.105(d)(3)(iii) or, in the alternative, the 
insertion of language indicating that outcomes, such as grades and 
test scores indicating academic success, are relevant evidence that 
should be considered when making disability determinations.
    In contrast, commenters representing persons with disabilities 
and individual commenters expressed strong support for these 
provisions, noting that what an individual can accomplish despite an 
impairment does not accurately reflect the obstacles an individual 
had to overcome because of the impairment. One organization 
representing persons with disabilities noted that while individuals 
with disabilities have achieved successes at work, in academia, and 
in other settings, their successes should not create obstacles to 
addressing what they can do ``in spite of an impairment.'' 
Commenters also expressed concerns that testing entities and 
educational institutions had failed to comply with the rules of 
construction or to revise prior policies and practices to comport 
with the new standards under the ADA as amended. Some commenters 
asserted that testing entities improperly rejected accommodation 
requests because the testing entities focused on test scores and 
outcomes rather than on how individuals learn; required severe 
levels of impairment; failed to disregard the helpful effect of 
self-mitigating measures; referenced participation in 
extracurricular activities as evidence that individuals did not have 
disabilities; and argued that individuals diagnosed with specific 
learning disabilities or ADHD in adulthood cannot demonstrate that 
they have a disability because their diagnosis occurred too late.
    Commenters representing persons with disabilities pointed to the 
discussion in the legislative history about restoring a focus on 
process rather than outcomes with respect to learning disabilities. 
They suggested that such a shift in focus also would be helpful in 
evaluating ADHD. One commenter asked the Department to include a 
reference to ADHD and to explain that persons with ADHD may achieve 
a high level of academic success but may nevertheless be 
substantially limited in one or more major life activities, such as 
reading, writing, speaking, concentrating, or learning. A private 
citizen requested the addition of examples demonstrating the 
application of these provisions because, in the commenter's view, 
there have been many problems with decisions regarding individuals 
with learning disabilities and an inappropriate focus on outcomes 
and test scores.

[[Page 53237]]

    The Department declines the request to add a specific reference 
to ADHD in these provisions. The Department believes that the 
principles discussed above apply equally to persons with ADHD as 
well as individuals with other impairments. The provision already 
references an illustrative, but not exclusive, example of an 
individual with a learning disability. The Department believes that 
this example effectively illustrates the concern that has affected 
individuals with other impairments due to an inappropriate emphasis 
on outcomes rather than how a major life activity is limited.
    Organizations representing testing and educational entities 
asked the Department to add regulatory language indicating that 
testing-related outcomes, such as grades and test scores, are 
relevant to disability determinations under the ADA. The Department 
has considered this proposal and declines to adopt it because it is 
inconsistent with congressional intent. As discussed earlier in this 
section, Congress specifically stated that the outcome an individual 
with a disability is able to achieve is not determinative of whether 
that individual has a physical or mental impairment that 
substantially limits a major life activity. The analysis of whether 
an individual with an impairment has a disability is a fact-driven 
analysis shaped by how an impairment has substantially limited one 
or more major life activities or major bodily functions, considering 
those specifically asserted by the individual as well as any others 
that may apply. For example, if an individual with ADHD seeking a 
reasonable modification or a testing accommodation asserts 
substantial limitations in the major life activities of 
concentrating and reading, then the analysis of whether or not that 
individual has a covered disability will necessarily focus on 
concentrating and reading. Relevant considerations could include 
restrictions on the conditions, manner, or duration in which the 
individual concentrates or reads, such as a need for a non-
stimulating environment or extensive time required to read. Even if 
an individual has asserted that an impairment creates substantial 
limitations on activities such as reading, writing, or 
concentrating, the individual's academic record or prior 
standardized testing results might not be relevant to the inquiry. 
Instead, the individual could show substantial limitations by 
providing evidence of condition, manner, or duration limitations, 
such as the need for a reader or additional time. The Department 
does not believe that the testing results or grades of an individual 
seeking reasonable modifications or testing accommodations always 
would be relevant to determinations of disability. While testing and 
educational entities may, of course, put forward any evidence that 
they deem pertinent to their response to an assertion of substantial 
limitation, testing results and grades may be of only limited 
relevance.
    In addition, the Department does not agree with the assertions 
made by testing and educational entities that evidence of testing 
and grades is objective and, therefore, should be weighted more 
heavily, while evidence of self-mitigating measures, informal 
accommodations, or recently provided accommodations or modifications 
is inherently subjective and should be afforded less consideration. 
Congress's discussion of the relevance of testing outcomes and 
grades clearly indicates that it did not consider them definitive 
evidence of the existence or non-existence of a disability. While 
tests and grades typically are numerical measures of performance, 
the capacity to quantify them does not make them inherently more 
valuable with respect to proving or disproving disability. To the 
contrary, Congress's incorporation of rules of construction 
emphasizing broad coverage of disabilities to the maximum extent 
permitted, its direction that such determinations should neither 
contemplate ameliorative mitigating measures nor demand extensive 
analysis, and its recognition of learned and adaptive modifications 
all support its openness for individuals with impairments to put 
forward a wide range of evidence to demonstrate their disabilities.
    The Department believes that Congress made its intention clear 
that the ADA's protections should encompass people for whom the 
nature of their impairment requires an assessment that focuses on 
how they engage in major life activities, rather than the ultimate 
outcome of those activities. Beyond directly addressing this concern 
in the debate over the ADA Amendments Act, Congress's incorporation 
of the far-reaching rules of construction, its explicit rejection of 
the consideration of ameliorative mitigating measures--including 
``learned behavioral or adaptive neurological modifications,'' 42 
U.S.C. 12102(4)(E)(i)(IV), such as those often employed by 
individuals with learning disabilities or ADHD--and its stated 
intention to ``reinstat[e] a broad scope of protection to be 
available under the ADA,'' Public Law 110-325, sec. 2(b)(1), all 
support the language initially proposed in these provisions. For 
these reasons, the Department determined that it will retain the 
language of these provisions as they were originally drafted.

Analysis of Condition, Manner, or Duration Not Always Required

    As noted in the discussion above, the Department has added 
Sec. Sec.  35.108(d)(3)(iv) and 36.105(d)(3)(iv) in the final rule 
to clarify that analysis of condition, manner, or duration will not 
always be necessary, particularly with respect to certain 
impairments that can easily be found to substantially limit a major 
life activity. This language is also found in the EEOC ADA title I 
regulation. See 29 CFR 1630(j)(4)(iv). As noted earlier, the 
inclusion of these provisions addresses several comments from 
organizations representing persons with disabilities. This language 
also responds to several commenters' concerns that the Department 
should clarify that, in some cases and particularly with respect to 
predictable assessments, no or only a very limited analysis of 
condition, manner, or duration is necessary.
    At the same time, individuals seeking coverage under the first 
or second prong of the definition of ``disability'' should not be 
constrained from offering evidence needed to establish that their 
impairment is substantially limiting. See 154 Cong. Rec. S8842 
(daily ed. Sept. 16, 2008) (Statement of the Managers). Such 
evidence may comprise facts related to condition, manner, or 
duration. And, covered entities may defeat a showing of substantial 
limitation by refuting whatever evidence the individual seeking 
coverage has offered, or by offering evidence that shows that an 
impairment does not impose a substantial limitation on a major life 
activity. However, a showing of substantial limitation is not 
defeated by facts unrelated to condition, manner, or duration that 
are not pertinent to the substantial limitation of a major life 
activity that the individual has proffered.

Sections 35.108(d)(4) and 36.105(d)(4)--Examples of Mitigating 
Measures

    The rules of construction set forth at Sec. Sec.  
35.108(d)(1)(viii) and 36.105(d)(1)(viii) of the final rule make 
clear that the ameliorative effects of mitigating measures shall not 
be considered when determining whether an impairment substantially 
limits a major life activity. In the NPRM, proposed Sec. Sec.  
35.108(d)(4) and 36.105(d)(4) provided a non-inclusive list of 
mitigating measures, which includes medication, medical supplies, 
equipment, appliances, low-vision devices, prosthetics, hearing 
aids, cochlear implants and implantable hearing devices, mobility 
devices, oxygen therapy equipment, and assistive technology. In 
addition, the proposed regulation clarified that mitigating measures 
can include ``learned behavioral or adaptive neurological 
modifications,'' psychotherapy, behavioral therapy, or physical 
therapy, and ``reasonable modifications'' or auxiliary aids and 
services.
    The phrase ``learned behavioral or adaptive neurological 
modifications,'' is intended to include strategies developed by an 
individual to lessen the impact of an impairment. The phrase 
``reasonable modifications'' is intended to include informal or 
undocumented accommodations and modifications as well as those 
provided through a formal process.
    The ADA as amended specifies one exception to the rule on 
mitigating measures, stating that the ameliorative effects of 
ordinary eyeglasses and contact lenses shall be considered in 
determining whether a person has an impairment that substantially 
limits a major life activity and thereby is a person with a 
disability. 42 U.S.C. 12102(4)(E)(ii). As discussed above, 
Sec. Sec.  35.108(d)(4)(i) and 36.105(d)(4)(i) incorporate this 
exception by excluding ordinary eyeglasses and contact lenses from 
the definition of ``low-vision devices,'' which are mitigating 
measures that may not be considered in determining whether an 
impairment is a substantial limitation.
    The Department received a number of comments supporting the 
Department's language in these sections and its broad range of 
examples of what constitutes a mitigating measure. Commenters 
representing students with disabilities specifically supported the 
inclusion of ``learned behavioral or adaptive neurological 
modifications,'' noting that the section ``appropriately supports 
and highlights that students [and individuals in other settings] may 
have developed self-

[[Page 53238]]

imposed ways to support their disability in order to perform major 
life activities required of daily life and that such measures cannot 
be used to find that the person is not substantially limited.''
    The Department notes that self-mitigating measures or 
undocumented modifications or accommodations for students who have 
impairments that substantially limit learning, reading, writing, 
speaking, or concentrating may include such measures as arranging to 
have multiple reminders for task completion; seeking help from 
others to provide reminders or to assist with the organization of 
tasks; selecting courses strategically (such as selecting courses 
that require papers instead of exams); devoting a far larger portion 
of the day, weekends, and holidays to study than students without 
disabilities; teaching oneself strategies to facilitate reading 
connected text or mnemonics to remember facts (including strategies 
such as highlighting and margin noting); being permitted extra time 
to complete tests; receiving modified homework assignments; or 
taking exams in a different format or in a less stressful or 
anxiety-provoking setting. Each of these mitigating measures, 
whether formal or informal, documented or undocumented, can improve 
the academic function of a student having to deal with a substantial 
limitation in a major life activity such as concentrating, reading, 
speaking, learning, or writing. However, when the determination of 
disability is made without considering the ameliorative effects of 
these measures, as required under the ADA as amended, these 
individuals still have a substantial limitation in major life 
activities and are covered by the ADA. See also discussion of 
Sec. Sec.  35.108(d)(1) and 36.105(d)(1), above.
    Some commenters argued that the Department's examples of 
mitigating measures inappropriately include normal learning 
strategies and asked that the Department withdraw or narrow its 
discussion of self-mitigating measures. The Department disagrees. 
Narrowing the discussion of self-mitigating measures to exclude 
normal or common strategies would not be consistent with the ADA 
Amendments Act. The Department construes learned behavioral or 
adaptive neurological modifications broadly to include strategies 
applied or utilized by an individual with a disability to lessen the 
effect of an impairment; whether the strategy applied is normal or 
common to students without disabilities is not relevant to whether 
an individual with a disability's application of the strategy 
lessens the effect of an impairment.
    An additional commenter asked the Department to add language to 
the regulation and preamble addressing mitigating measures an 
individual with ADHD may employ. This commenter noted that ``[a]n 
individual with ADHD may employ a wide variety of self-mitigating 
measures, such as exertion of extensive extra effort, use of 
multiple reminders, whether low tech or high tech, seeking a quiet 
or distraction free place or environment to do required 
activities.'' The Department agrees with this commenter that these 
are examples of the type of self-mitigating measures used by 
individuals with ADHD, but believes that they fall within the range 
of mitigating measures already addressed by the regulatory language.
    Another commenter asked the Department to add language to the 
regulation or preamble addressing surgical interventions in a 
similar fashion to the approach taken in the EEOC's title I 
preamble, 76 FR 16978, 16983 (Mar. 25, 2011). There, the EEOC noted 
that a surgical intervention may be an ameliorative mitigating 
measure that could result in the permanent elimination of an 
impairment, but it also indicated that confusion about how this 
example might apply recommended against its inclusion in the 
regulatory text. Therefore, the EEOC eliminated that example from 
the draft regulatory text and recommended that, ``[d]eterminations 
about whether surgical interventions should be taken into 
consideration when assessing whether an individual has a disability 
are better assessed on a case-by-case basis.'' The Department agrees 
with the EEOC and underscores that surgical interventions may 
constitute mitigating measures that should not be considered in 
determining whether an individual meets the definition of 
``disability.'' The Department declines to make any changes to its 
proposed regulatory text for these sections of the final rule.
    The ADA Amendments Act provides an ``illustrative but non-
comprehensive list of the types of mitigating measures that are not 
to be considered.'' 154 Cong. Rec. S8842 (daily ed. Sept. 16, 2008) 
(Statement of the Managers) at 9; see also H.R. Rep. No. 110-730, 
pt. 2, at 20 (2008). The absence of any particular mitigating 
measure should not convey a negative implication as to whether the 
measure is a mitigating measure under the ADA. Id. This principle 
applies equally to the non-exhaustive list in Sec. Sec.  
35.108(d)(4) and 36.105(d)(4).

Sections 35.108(e) and 36.105(e)--Has a Record of Such an 
Impairment

    The second prong of the definition of ``disability'' under the 
ADA provides that an individual with a record of an impairment that 
substantially limits or limited a major life activity is an 
individual with a disability. 42 U.S.C. 12102(1)(B).
    Paragraph (3) of the definition of ``disability'' in the 
existing title II and title III regulations states that the phrase 
``has a record of such an impairment'' means has a history of, or 
has been misclassified as having, a mental or physical impairment 
that substantially limits one or more major life activities. 28 CFR 
35.104, 36.104. The NPRM proposed keeping the language in the title 
II and title III regulations (with minor editorial changes) but to 
renumber it as Sec. Sec.  35.108(e)(1) and 36.105(e)(1). In 
addition, the NPRM proposed adding a new second paragraph stating 
that any individual's assertion of a record of impairment that 
substantially limits a major life activity should be broadly 
construed to the maximum extent permitted by the ADA and should not 
require extensive analysis. If an individual has a history of an 
impairment that substantially limited one or more major life 
activities when compared to most people in the general population or 
was misclassified as having had such an impairment, then that 
individual will satisfy the third prong of the definition of 
``disability.'' The NPRM also proposed adding paragraph (3), which 
provides that ``[a]n individual with a record of a substantially 
limiting impairment may be entitled to a reasonable modification if 
needed and related to the past disability.''
    The Department received no comments objecting to its proposed 
language for these provisions and has retained it in the final rule. 
The Department received one comment requesting additional guidance 
on the meaning of these provisions. The Department notes that 
Congress intended this prong of the definition of ``disability'' to 
ensure that people are not discriminated against based on prior 
medical history. This prong is also intended to ensure that 
individuals are not discriminated against because they have been 
misclassified as an individual with a disability. For example, 
individuals misclassified as having learning disabilities or 
intellectual disabilities are protected from discrimination on the 
basis of that erroneous classification. See H.R. Rep. No. 110-730, 
pt. 2, at 7-8 & n.14 (2008).
    This prong of the definition is satisfied where evidence 
establishes that an individual has had a substantially limiting 
impairment. The impairment indicated in the record must be an 
impairment that would substantially limit one or more of the 
individual's major life activities. The terms ``substantially 
limits'' and ``major life activity'' under the second prong of the 
definition of ``disability'' are to be construed in accordance with 
the same principles applicable under the ``actual disability'' 
prong, as set forth in Sec. Sec.  35.108(b) and 36.105(b).
    There are many types of records that could potentially contain 
this information, including but not limited to, education, medical, 
or employment records. The Department notes that past history of an 
impairment need not be reflected in a specific document. Any 
evidence that an individual has a past history of an impairment that 
substantially limited a major life activity is all that is necessary 
to establish coverage under the second prong. An individual may have 
a ``record of'' a substantially limiting impairment--and thus 
establish coverage under the ``record of'' prong of the statute--
even if a covered entity does not specifically know about the 
relevant record. For the covered entity to be liable for 
discrimination under the ADA, however, the individual with a 
``record of'' a substantially limiting impairment must prove that 
the covered entity discriminated on the basis of the record of the 
disability.
    Individuals who are covered under the ``record of'' prong may be 
covered under the first prong of the definition of ``disability'' as 
well. This is because the rules of construction in the ADA 
Amendments Act and the Department's regulations provide that an 
individual with an impairment that is episodic or in remission can 
be protected under the first prong if the impairment would be 
substantially limiting when active. See Sec. Sec.  35.108(d)(1)(iv); 
36.105(d)(1)(iv). Thus, an individual who has cancer that is 
currently in remission is an individual with

[[Page 53239]]

a disability under the ``actual disability'' prong because he has an 
impairment that would substantially limit normal cell growth when 
active. He is also covered by the ``record of'' prong based on his 
history of having had an impairment that substantially limited 
normal cell growth.
    Finally, these provisions of the regulations clarify that an 
individual with a record of a disability is entitled to a reasonable 
modification currently needed relating to the past substantially 
limiting impairment. In the legislative history, Congress stated 
that reasonable modifications were available to persons covered 
under the second prong of the definition. See H.R. Rep. No. 110-730, 
pt. 2, at 22 (2008) (``This makes clear that the duty to accommodate 
. . . arises only when an individual establishes coverage under the 
first or second prong of the definition.''). For example, a high 
school student with an impairment that previously substantially 
limited, but no longer substantially limits, a major life activity 
may need permission to miss a class or have a schedule change as a 
reasonable modification that would permit him or her to attend 
follow-up or monitoring appointments from a health care provider.

Sections 35.108(f) and 36.105(f)--Is Regarded as Having Such an 
Impairment

    The ``regarded as having such an impairment'' prong of the 
definition of ``disability'' was included in the ADA specifically to 
protect individuals who might not meet the first two prongs of the 
definition, but who were subject to adverse decisions by covered 
entities based upon unfounded concerns, mistaken beliefs, fears, 
myths, or prejudices about persons with disabilities. See 154 Cong. 
Rec. S8842 (daily ed. Sept. 16, 2008) (Statement of the Managers). 
The rationale for the ``regarded as'' part of the definition of 
``disability'' was articulated by the Supreme Court in the context 
of section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 in School Board of 
Nassau County v. Arline, 480 U.S. 273 (1987). In Arline, the Court 
noted that, although an individual may have an impairment that does 
not diminish his or her physical or mental capabilities, it could 
``nevertheless substantially limit that person's ability to work as 
a result of the negative reactions of others to the impairment.'' 
Id. at 283. Thus, individuals seeking the protection of the ADA 
under the ``regarded as'' prong only had to show that a covered 
entity took some action prohibited by the statute because of an 
actual or perceived impairment. At the time of the Arline decision, 
there was no requirement that the individual demonstrate that he or 
she, in fact, had or was perceived to have an impairment that 
substantially limited a major life activity. See 154 Cong. Rec. 
S8842 (daily ed. Sept. 16, 2008) (Statement of the Managers). For 
example, if a daycare center refused to admit a child with burn 
scars because of the presence of the scars, then the daycare center 
regarded the child as an individual with a disability, regardless of 
whether the child's scars substantially limited a major life 
activity.
    In Sutton v. United Air Lines, Inc., 527 U.S. 471 (1999), the 
Supreme Court significantly narrowed the application of this prong, 
holding that individuals who asserted coverage under the ``regarded 
as having such an impairment'' prong had to establish either that 
the covered entity mistakenly believed that the individual had a 
physical or mental impairment that substantially limited a major 
life activity, or that the covered entity mistakenly believed that 
``an actual, nonlimiting impairment substantially limit[ed]'' a 
major life activity, when in fact the impairment was not so 
limiting. Id. at 489. Congress expressly rejected this standard in 
the ADA Amendments Act by amending the ADA to clarify that it is 
sufficient for an individual to establish that the covered entity 
regarded him or her as having an impairment, regardless of whether 
the individual actually has the impairment or whether the impairment 
constitutes a disability under the Act. 42 U.S.C. 12102(3)(A). This 
amendment restores Congress's intent to allow individuals to 
establish coverage under the ``regarded as'' prong by showing that 
they were treated adversely because of an actual or perceived 
impairment without having to establish the covered entity's beliefs 
concerning the severity of the impairment. See H.R. Rep. No. 110-
730, pt. 2, at 18 (2008).
    Thus, under the ADA as amended, it is not necessary, as it was 
prior to the ADA Amendments Act and following the Supreme Court's 
decision in Sutton, for an individual to demonstrate that a covered 
entity perceived him as substantially limited in the ability to 
perform a major life activity in order for the individual to 
establish that he or she is covered under the ``regarded as'' prong. 
Nor is it necessary to demonstrate that the impairment relied on by 
a covered entity is (in the case of an actual impairment) or would 
be (in the case of a perceived impairment) substantially limiting 
for an individual to be ``regarded as having such an impairment.'' 
In short, to be covered under the ``regarded as'' prong, an 
individual is not subject to any functional test. See 154 Cong. Rec. 
S8843 (daily ed. Sept. 16, 2008) (Statement of the Managers) (``The 
functional limitation imposed by an impairment is irrelevant to the 
third `regarded as' prong.''); H.R. Rep. No. 110-730, pt. 2, at 17 
(2008) (``[T]he individual is not required to show that the 
perceived impairment limits performance of a major life activity.'') 
The concepts of ``major life activities'' and ``substantial 
limitation'' simply are not relevant in evaluating whether an 
individual is ``regarded as having such an impairment.''
    In the NPRM, the Department proposed Sec. Sec.  35.108(f)(1) and 
36.105(f)(1), which are intended to restore the meaning of the 
``regarded as'' prong of the definition of ``disability'' by adding 
language that incorporates the amended statutory provision: ``An 
individual is `regarded as having such an impairment' if the 
individual is subjected to an action prohibited by the ADA because 
of an actual or perceived physical or mental impairment, whether or 
not that impairment substantially limits, or is perceived to 
substantially limit, a major life activity, except for an impairment 
that is both transitory and minor.''
    The proposed provisions also incorporate the statutory 
definition of transitory impairment, stating that a ``transitory 
impairment is an impairment with an actual or expected duration of 
six months or less.'' The ``transitory and minor'' exception was not 
in the third prong in the original statutory definition of 
``disability.'' Congress added this exception to address concerns 
raised by the business community that ``absent this exception, the 
third prong of the definition would have covered individuals who are 
regarded as having common ailments like the cold or flu.'' See H.R. 
Rep. No. 110-730, pt. 2, at 18 (2008). However, as an exception to 
the general rule for broad coverage under the ``regarded as'' prong, 
this limitation on coverage should be construed narrowly. Id. The 
ADA Amendments Act did not define ``minor.''
    In addition, proposed Sec. Sec.  35.108(f)(2) and 36.105(f)(2) 
stated that any time a public entity or covered entity takes a 
prohibited action because of an individual's actual or perceived 
impairment, even if the entity asserts, or may or does ultimately 
establish, a defense to such action, that individual is ``regarded 
as'' having such an impairment. Commenters on these provisions 
recommended that the Department revise its language to clarify that 
the determination of whether an impairment is in fact ``transitory 
and minor'' is an objective determination and that a covered entity 
may not defeat ``regarded as'' coverage of an individual simply by 
demonstrating that it subjectively believed that the impairment is 
transitory and minor. In addition, a number of commenters cited the 
EEOC title I rule at 29 CFR 1630.15(f) and asked the Department to 
clarify that ``the issue of whether an actual or perceived 
impairment is `transitory and minor' is an affirmative defense and 
not part of the plaintiff's burden of proof.'' The Department agrees 
with these commenters and has revised paragraphs (1) and (2) of 
these sections for clarity, as shown in Sec. Sec.  35.108(f)(2) and 
36.105(f)(2) of the final rule.
    The revised language makes clear that the relevant inquiry under 
these sections is whether the actual or perceived impairment that is 
the basis of the covered entity's action is objectively ``transitory 
and minor,'' not whether the covered entity claims it subjectively 
believed the impairment was transitory and minor. For example, a 
private school that expelled a student whom it believes has bipolar 
disorder cannot take advantage of this exception by asserting that 
it believed the student's impairment was transitory and minor, 
because bipolar disorder is not objectively transitory and minor. 
Similarly, a public swimming pool that refused to admit an 
individual with a skin rash, mistakenly believing the rash to be 
symptomatic of HIV, will have ``regarded'' the individual as having 
a disability. It is not a defense to coverage that the skin rash was 
objectively transitory and minor because the covered entity took the 
prohibited action based on a perceived impairment, HIV, that is not 
transitory and minor.
    The revised regulatory text also makes clear that the 
``transitory and minor'' exception to a ``regarded as'' claim is a 
defense to a claim of discrimination and not part of an individual's 
prima facie case. The

[[Page 53240]]

Department reiterates that to fall within this exception, the actual 
or perceived impairment must be both transitory (less than six 
months in duration) and minor. For example, an individual with a 
minor back injury could be ``regarded as'' an individual with a 
disability if the back impairment lasted or was anticipated to last 
more than six months. The Department notes that the revised 
regulatory text is consistent with the EEOC rule which added the 
transitory and minor exception to its general affirmative defense 
provision in its title I ADA regulation at 29 CFR 1630.15(f). 
Finally, in the NPRM, the Department proposed Sec. Sec.  
35.108(f)(3) and 36.105(f)(3) which provided that an individual who 
is ``regarded as having such an impairment'' does not establish 
liability based on that alone. Instead, an individual can establish 
liability only when an individual proves that a private entity or 
covered entity discriminated on the basis of disability within the 
meaning of the ADA. This provision was intended to make it clear 
that in order to establish liability, an individual must establish 
coverage as a person with a disability, as well as establish that he 
or she had been subjected to an action prohibited by the ADA.
    The Department received no comments on the language in these 
paragraphs. Upon consideration, in the final rule, the Department 
has decided to retain the regulatory text for Sec. Sec.  
35.108(f)(3) and 36.105(f)(3) except that the reference to ``covered 
entity'' in the title III regulatory text is changed to ``public 
accommodation.''

Sections 35.108(g) and 36.105(g)--Exclusions

    The NPRM did not propose changes to the text of the existing 
exclusions contained in paragraph (5) of the definition of 
``disability'' in the title II and title III regulations, see 28 CFR 
35.104, 36.104, which are based on 42 U.S.C. 12211(b), a statutory 
provision that was not modified by the ADA Amendments Act. The NPRM 
did propose to renumber these provisions, relocating them at 
Sec. Sec.  35.108(g) and 36.105(g) of the Department's revised 
definition of ``disability.'' The Department received no comments on 
the proposed renumbering, which is retained in the final rule.

Sections 35.130(b)(7)(i)--General Prohibitions Against 
Discrimination and 36.302(g)--Modifications in Policies, Practices, 
or Procedures

    The ADA Amendments Act revised the ADA to specify that a public 
entity under title II, and any person who owns, leases (or leases 
to), or operates a place of public accommodation under title III, 
``need not provide a reasonable accommodation or a reasonable 
modification to policies, practices, or procedures to an individual 
who meets the definition of disability'' solely on the basis of 
being regarded as having an impairment. 42 U.S.C. 12201(h). In the 
NPRM, the Department proposed Sec. Sec.  35.130(b)(7)(i) and 
36.302(g) to reflect this concept, explaining that a public entity 
or covered entity ``is not required to provide a reasonable 
modification to an individual who meets the definition of disability 
solely under the `regarded as' prong of the definition of 
disability.'' These provisions clarify that the duty to provide 
reasonable modifications arises only when the individual establishes 
coverage under the first or second prong of the definition of 
``disability.'' These provisions are not intended to diminish the 
existing obligations to provide reasonable modifications under title 
II and title III of the ADA.
    The Department received no comments associated with these 
provisions and retains the NPRM language in the final rule except 
for replacing the words ``covered entity'' with ``public 
accommodation'' in Sec.  36.302(g).

Sections 35.130(i) and 36.201(c)--Claims of No Disability

    The ADA as amended provides that ``[n]othing in this [Act] shall 
provide the basis for a claim by an individual without a disability 
that the individual was subject to discrimination because of the 
individual's lack of disability.'' 42 U.S.C. 12201(g). In the NPRM 
the Department proposed adding Sec. Sec.  35.130(i) and 36.201(c) to 
the title II and title III regulations, respectively, which 
incorporate similar language. These provisions clarify that persons 
without disabilities do not have an actionable claim under the ADA 
on the basis of not having a disability.
    The Department received no comments associated with this issue 
and has retained these provisions in the final rule.

Effect of ADA Amendments Act on Academic Requirements in 
Postsecondary Education

    The Department notes that the ADA Amendments Act revised the 
rules of construction in title V of the ADA by including a provision 
affirming that nothing in the Act changed the existing ADA 
requirement that covered entities provide reasonable modifications 
in policies, practices, or procedures unless the entity can 
demonstrate that making such modifications, including academic 
requirements in postsecondary education, would fundamentally alter 
the nature of goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, 
or accommodations involved. See 42 U.S.C. 12201(f). Congress noted 
that the reference to academic requirements in postsecondary 
education was included ``solely to provide assurances that the bill 
does not alter current law with regard to the obligations of 
academic institutions under the ADA, which we believe is already 
demonstrated in case law on this topic. Specifically, the reference 
to academic standards in post-secondary education is unrelated to 
the purpose of this legislation and should be given no meaning in 
interpreting the definition of disability.'' 154 Cong. Rec. S8843 
(daily ed. Sept. 16, 2008) (Statement of the Managers). Given that 
Congress did not intend there to be any change to the law in this 
area, the Department did not propose to make any changes to its 
regulatory requirements in response to this provision of the ADA 
Amendments Act.

PART 36--NONDISCRIMINATION ON THE BASIS OF DISABILITY BY PUBLIC 
ACCOMMODATIONS AND IN COMMERCIAL FACILITIES

0
7. Revise the authority citation for part 36 to read as follows:

    Authority: 5 U.S.C. 301; 28 U.S.C. 509, 510; 42 U.S.C. 12186(b) 
and 12205a.


0
8. Revise Sec.  36.101 to read as follows:


Sec.  36.101  Purpose and broad coverage.

    (a) Purpose. The purpose of this part is to implement subtitle A of 
title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 
12181-12189), as amended by the ADA Amendments Act of 2008 (ADA 
Amendments Act) (Pub. L. 110-325, 122 Stat. 3553 (2008)), which 
prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability by covered public 
accommodations and requires places of public accommodation and 
commercial facilities to be designed, constructed, and altered in 
compliance with the accessibility standards established by this part.
    (b) Broad coverage. The primary purpose of the ADA Amendments Act 
is to make it easier for people with disabilities to obtain protection 
under the ADA. Consistent with the ADA Amendments Act's purpose of 
reinstating a broad scope of protection under the ADA, the definition 
of ``disability'' in this part shall be construed broadly in favor of 
expansive coverage to the maximum extent permitted by the terms of the 
ADA. The primary object of attention in cases brought under the ADA 
should be whether entities covered under the ADA have complied with 
their obligations and whether discrimination has occurred, not whether 
the individual meets the definition of ``disability.'' The question of 
whether an individual meets the definition of ``disability'' under this 
part should not demand extensive analysis.

0
9. Amend Sec.  36.104 by revising the definition of ``Disability'' to 
read as follows:


Sec.  36.104  Definitions.

* * * * *
    Disability. The definition of disability can be found at Sec.  
36.105.
* * * * *

0
10. Add Sec.  36.105 to subpart A to read as follows:


Sec.  36.105  Definition of ``disability.''

    (a)(1) Disability means, with respect to an individual:
    (i) A physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one 
or more of the major life activities of such individual;

[[Page 53241]]

    (ii) A record of such an impairment; or
    (iii) Being regarded as having such an impairment as described in 
paragraph (f) of this section.
    (2) Rules of construction. (i) The definition of ``disability'' 
shall be construed broadly in favor of expansive coverage, to the 
maximum extent permitted by the terms of the ADA.
    (ii) An individual may establish coverage under any one or more of 
the three prongs of the definition of ``disability'' in paragraph 
(a)(1) of this section, the ``actual disability'' prong in paragraph 
(a)(1)(i) of this section, the ``record of'' prong in paragraph 
(a)(1)(ii) of this section, or the ``regarded as'' prong in paragraph 
(a)(1)(iii) of this section.
    (iii) Where an individual is not challenging a public 
accommodation's failure to provide reasonable modifications under Sec.  
36.302, it is generally unnecessary to proceed under the ``actual 
disability'' or ``record of'' prongs, which require a showing of an 
impairment that substantially limits a major life activity or a record 
of such an impairment. In these cases, the evaluation of coverage can 
be made solely under the ``regarded as'' prong of the definition of 
``disability,'' which does not require a showing of an impairment that 
substantially limits a major life activity or a record of such an 
impairment. An individual may choose, however, to proceed under the 
``actual disability'' or ``record of'' prong regardless of whether the 
individual is challenging a public accommodation's failure to provide 
reasonable modifications.
    (b)(1) Physical or mental impairment means:
    (i) Any physiological disorder or condition, cosmetic 
disfigurement, or anatomical loss affecting one or more body systems, 
such as: Neurological, musculoskeletal, special sense organs, 
respiratory (including speech organs), cardiovascular, reproductive, 
digestive, genitourinary, immune, circulatory, hemic, lymphatic, skin, 
and endocrine; or
    (ii) Any mental or psychological disorder such as intellectual 
disability, organic brain syndrome, emotional or mental illness, and 
specific learning disability.
    (2) Physical or mental impairment includes, but is not limited to, 
contagious and noncontagious diseases and conditions such as the 
following: Orthopedic, visual, speech and hearing impairments, and 
cerebral palsy, epilepsy, muscular dystrophy, multiple sclerosis, 
cancer, heart disease, diabetes, intellectual disability, emotional 
illness, dyslexia and other specific learning disabilities, Attention 
Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Human Immunodeficiency Virus infection 
(whether symptomatic or asymptomatic), tuberculosis, drug addiction, 
and alcoholism.
    (3) Physical or mental impairment does not include homosexuality or 
bisexuality.
    (c)(1) Major life activities include, but are not limited to:
    (i) Caring for oneself, performing manual tasks, seeing, hearing, 
eating, sleeping, walking, standing, sitting, reaching, lifting, 
bending, speaking, breathing, learning, reading, concentrating, 
thinking, writing, communicating, interacting with others, and working; 
and
    (ii) The operation of a major bodily function, such as the 
functions of the immune system, special sense organs and skin, normal 
cell growth, and digestive, genitourinary, bowel, bladder, 
neurological, brain, respiratory, circulatory, cardiovascular, 
endocrine, hemic, lymphatic, musculoskeletal, and reproductive systems. 
The operation of a major bodily function includes the operation of an 
individual organ within a body system.
    (2) Rules of construction. (i) In determining whether an impairment 
substantially limits a major life activity, the term major shall not be 
interpreted strictly to create a demanding standard.
    (ii) Whether an activity is a major life activity is not determined 
by reference to whether it is of central importance to daily life.
    (d) Substantially limits--(1) Rules of construction. The following 
rules of construction apply when determining whether an impairment 
substantially limits an individual in a major life activity.
    (i) The term ``substantially limits'' shall be construed broadly in 
favor of expansive coverage, to the maximum extent permitted by the 
terms of the ADA. ``Substantially limits'' is not meant to be a 
demanding standard.
    (ii) The primary object of attention in cases brought under title 
III of the ADA should be whether public accommodations have complied 
with their obligations and whether discrimination has occurred, not the 
extent to which an individual's impairment substantially limits a major 
life activity. Accordingly, the threshold issue of whether an 
impairment substantially limits a major life activity should not demand 
extensive analysis.
    (iii) An impairment that substantially limits one major life 
activity does not need to limit other major life activities in order to 
be considered a substantially limiting impairment.
    (iv) An impairment that is episodic or in remission is a disability 
if it would substantially limit a major life activity when active.
    (v) An impairment is a disability within the meaning of this part 
if it substantially limits the ability of an individual to perform a 
major life activity as compared to most people in the general 
population. An impairment does not need to prevent, or significantly or 
severely restrict, the individual from performing a major life activity 
in order to be considered substantially limiting. Nonetheless, not 
every impairment will constitute a disability within the meaning of 
this section.
    (vi) The determination of whether an impairment substantially 
limits a major life activity requires an individualized assessment. 
However, in making this assessment, the term ``substantially limits'' 
shall be interpreted and applied to require a degree of functional 
limitation that is lower than the standard for substantially limits 
applied prior to the ADA Amendments Act.
    (vii) The comparison of an individual's performance of a major life 
activity to the performance of the same major life activity by most 
people in the general population usually will not require scientific, 
medical, or statistical evidence. Nothing in this paragraph (d)(1) is 
intended, however, to prohibit or limit the presentation of scientific, 
medical, or statistical evidence in making such a comparison where 
appropriate.
    (viii) The determination of whether an impairment substantially 
limits a major life activity shall be made without regard to the 
ameliorative effects of mitigating measures. However, the ameliorative 
effects of ordinary eyeglasses or contact lenses shall be considered in 
determining whether an impairment substantially limits a major life 
activity. Ordinary eyeglasses or contact lenses are lenses that are 
intended to fully correct visual acuity or to eliminate refractive 
error.
    (ix) The six-month ``transitory'' part of the ``transitory and 
minor'' exception in paragraph (f)(2) of this section does not apply to 
the ``actual disability'' or ``record of'' prongs of the definition of 
``disability.'' The effects of an impairment lasting or expected to 
last less than six months can be substantially limiting within the 
meaning of this section for establishing an actual disability or a 
record of a disability.
    (2) Predictable assessments. (i) The principles set forth in the 
rules of

[[Page 53242]]

construction in this section are intended to provide for more generous 
coverage and application of the ADA's prohibition on discrimination 
through a framework that is predictable, consistent, and workable for 
all individuals and entities with rights and responsibilities under the 
ADA.
    (ii) Applying these principles, the individualized assessment of 
some types of impairments will, in virtually all cases, result in a 
determination of coverage under paragraph (a)(1)(i) of this section 
(the ``actual disability'' prong) or paragraph (a)(1)(ii) of this 
section (the ``record of'' prong). Given their inherent nature, these 
types of impairments will, as a factual matter, virtually always be 
found to impose a substantial limitation on a major life activity. 
Therefore, with respect to these types of impairments, the necessary 
individualized assessment should be particularly simple and 
straightforward.
    (iii) For example, applying these principles it should easily be 
concluded that the types of impairments set forth in paragraphs 
(d)(2)(iii)(A) through (K) of this section will, at a minimum, 
substantially limit the major life activities indicated. The types of 
impairments described in this paragraph may substantially limit 
additional major life activities (including major bodily functions) not 
explicitly listed in paragraphs (d)(2)(iii)(A) through (K).
    (A) Deafness substantially limits hearing;
    (B) Blindness substantially limits seeing;
    (C) Intellectual disability substantially limits brain function;
    (D) Partially or completely missing limbs or mobility impairments 
requiring the use of a wheelchair substantially limit musculoskeletal 
function;
    (E) Autism substantially limits brain function;
    (F) Cancer substantially limits normal cell growth;
    (G) Cerebral palsy substantially limits brain function;
    (H) Diabetes substantially limits endocrine function;
    (I) Epilepsy, muscular dystrophy, and multiple sclerosis each 
substantially limits neurological function;
    (J) Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection substantially 
limits immune function; and
    (K) Major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, post-traumatic 
stress disorder, traumatic brain injury, obsessive compulsive disorder, 
and schizophrenia each substantially limits brain function.
    (3) Condition, manner, or duration.(i) At all times taking into 
account the principles set forth in the rules of construction, in 
determining whether an individual is substantially limited in a major 
life activity, it may be useful in appropriate cases to consider, as 
compared to most people in the general population, the conditions under 
which the individual performs the major life activity; the manner in 
which the individual performs the major life activity; or the duration 
of time it takes the individual to perform the major life activity, or 
for which the individual can perform the major life activity.
    (ii) Consideration of facts such as condition, manner, or duration 
may include, among other things, consideration of the difficulty, 
effort or time required to perform a major life activity; pain 
experienced when performing a major life activity; the length of time a 
major life activity can be performed; or the way an impairment affects 
the operation of a major bodily function. In addition, the non-
ameliorative effects of mitigating measures, such as negative side 
effects of medication or burdens associated with following a particular 
treatment regimen, may be considered when determining whether an 
individual's impairment substantially limits a major life activity.
    (iii) In determining whether an individual has a disability under 
the ``actual disability'' or ``record of'' prongs of the definition of 
``disability,'' the focus is on how a major life activity is 
substantially limited, and not on what outcomes an individual can 
achieve. For example, someone with a learning disability may achieve a 
high level of academic success, but may nevertheless be substantially 
limited in one or more major life activities, including, but not 
limited to, reading, writing, speaking, or learning because of the 
additional time or effort he or she must spend to read, write, speak, 
or learn compared to most people in the general population.
    (iv) Given the rules of construction set forth in this section, it 
may often be unnecessary to conduct an analysis involving most or all 
of the facts related to condition, manner, or duration. This is 
particularly true with respect to impairments such as those described 
in paragraph (d)(2)(iii) of this section, which by their inherent 
nature should be easily found to impose a substantial limitation on a 
major life activity, and for which the individualized assessment should 
be particularly simple and straightforward.
    (4) Mitigating measures include, but are not limited to:
    (i) Medication, medical supplies, equipment, appliances, low-vision 
devices (defined as devices that magnify, enhance, or otherwise augment 
a visual image, but not including ordinary eyeglasses or contact 
lenses), prosthetics including limbs and devices, hearing aid(s) and 
cochlear implant(s) or other implantable hearing devices, mobility 
devices, and oxygen therapy equipment and supplies;
    (ii) Use of assistive technology;
    (iii) Reasonable modifications or auxiliary aids or services as 
defined in this regulation;
    (iv) Learned behavioral or adaptive neurological modifications; or
    (v) Psychotherapy, behavioral therapy, or physical therapy.
    (e) Has a record of such an impairment. (1) An individual has a 
record of such an impairment if the individual has a history of, or has 
been misclassified as having, a mental or physical impairment that 
substantially limits one or more major life activities.
    (2) Broad construction. Whether an individual has a record of an 
impairment that substantially limited a major life activity shall be 
construed broadly to the maximum extent permitted by the ADA and should 
not demand extensive analysis. An individual will be considered to fall 
within this prong of the definition of ``disability'' if the individual 
has a history of an impairment that substantially limited one or more 
major life activities when compared to most people in the general 
population, or was misclassified as having had such an impairment. In 
determining whether an impairment substantially limited a major life 
activity, the principles articulated in paragraph (d)(1) of this 
section apply.
    (3) Reasonable modification. An individual with a record of a 
substantially limiting impairment may be entitled to a reasonable 
modification if needed and related to the past disability.
    (f) Is regarded as having such an impairment. The following 
principles apply under the ``regarded as'' prong of the definition of 
``disability'' (paragraph (a)(1)(iii) of this section):
    (1) Except as set forth in paragraph (f)(2) of this section, an 
individual is ``regarded as having such an impairment'' if the 
individual is subjected to a prohibited action because of an actual or 
perceived physical or mental impairment, whether or not that impairment 
substantially limits, or is perceived to substantially limit, a major 
life activity, even if the public accommodation asserts, or may or does 
ultimately establish, a defense to the action prohibited by the ADA.
    (2) An individual is not ``regarded as having such an impairment'' 
if the public accommodation demonstrates that the impairment is, 
objectively, both

[[Page 53243]]

``transitory'' and ``minor.'' A public accommodation may not defeat 
``regarded as'' coverage of an individual simply by demonstrating that 
it subjectively believed the impairment was transitory and minor; 
rather, the public accommodation must demonstrate that the impairment 
is (in the case of an actual impairment) or would be (in the case of a 
perceived impairment), objectively, both ``transitory'' and ``minor.'' 
For purposes of this section, ``transitory'' is defined as lasting or 
expected to last six months or less.
    (3) Establishing that an individual is ``regarded as having such an 
impairment'' does not, by itself, establish liability. Liability is 
established under title III of the ADA only when an individual proves 
that a public accommodation discriminated on the basis of disability 
within the meaning of title III of the ADA, 42 U.S.C. 12181-12189.
    (g) Exclusions. The term ``disability'' does not include--
    (1) Transvestism, transsexualism, pedophilia, exhibitionism, 
voyeurism, gender identity disorders not resulting from physical 
impairments, or other sexual behavior disorders;
    (2) Compulsive gambling, kleptomania, or pyromania; or
    (3) Psychoactive substance use disorders resulting from current 
illegal use of drugs.

Subpart B--General Requirements

0
11. Amend Sec.  36.201 by adding paragraph (c) to read as follows:


Sec.  36.201  General.

* * * * *
    (c) Claims of no disability. Nothing in this part shall provide the 
basis for a claim that an individual without a disability was subject 
to discrimination because of a lack of disability, including a claim 
that an individual with a disability was granted a reasonable 
modification that was denied to an individual without a disability.

Subpart C--Specific Requirements

0
12. Amend Sec.  36.302 by adding paragraph (g) to read as follows:


Sec.  36.302  Modifications in policies, practices, or procedures.

* * * * *
    (g) Reasonable modifications for individuals ``regarded as'' having 
a disability. A public accommodation is not required to provide a 
reasonable modification to an individual who meets the definition of 
``disability'' solely under the ``regarded as'' prong of the definition 
of ``disability'' at Sec.  36.105(a)(1)(iii).
* * * * *

0
13. Add appendix E to part 36 to read as follows:

Appendix E--Guidance to Revisions to ADA Title II and Title III 
Regulations Revising the Meaning and Interpretation of the Definition 
of ``disability'' and Other Provisions in Order To Incorporate the 
Requirements of the ADA Amendments Act

    For guidance providing a section-by-section analysis of the 
revisions to 28 CFR parts 35 and 36 published on August 11, 2016, 
see appendix C of 28 CFR part 35.

    Dated: July 15, 2016.
Loretta E. Lynch,
Attorney General.
[FR Doc. 2016-17417 Filed 8-10-16; 8:45 a.m.]
 BILLING CODE 4410-13-P