Court limits scope of disability law

WASHINGTON -- In a victory for employers, the Supreme Court made it more difficult for workers to demand special treatment when they suffer partial physical disabilities such as carpal tunnel syndrome.

Tuesday's unanimous decision in the case of a former assembly line worker narrows the scope of the landmark civil rights law that protects the disabled. It was the latest in a series of Supreme Court rulings that set boundaries on who is covered by the 1990 Americans With Disabilities Act, and why.

Disability cannot be measured solely on the ability to do certain tasks at work, the court ruled Tuesday. Whether someone is disabled also must depend on the ease with which they perform "activities that are of central importance to most people's daily lives," Justice Sandra Day O'Connor wrote for the court.

Into that category the court put walking, seeing and hearing, among other things. The court said it does not extend, as a lower federal appeals court held, to the ability to perform some manual tasks on the job.

The disability must also be permanent or long-lasting, O'Connor wrote.

"It is insufficient for individuals attempting to prove disability status under this test to merely submit evidence of a medical disability," O'Connor wrote.

Former Toyota engine assembler Ella Williams had such a medical diagnosis and instructions from her doctor not to lift too much weight or extend her arms for too long lest she aggravate her wrist, arm and shoulder problems. She blames repetitive assembly line work for her injuries and has said the problems arose within months of taking a job at the Toyota plant in Georgetown, Ky.

Reassignment refused

Her restrictions meant Williams could perform some but not all her assigned duties on the factory floor, she said. She asked for reassignment and sued under the ADA when Toyota refused.

Williams' disability does not prevent her from doing many tasks at home and at work. She can, for example, cook, clean and garden so long as she does not overdo it. She had no problems performing a light-duty quality inspection job at Toyota.

The court reversed a decision in Williams' favor from the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and sent the case back for reconsideration.

The ADA is probably best known for requiring wheelchair ramps at many public buildings. It bans discrimination against the disabled on the job and elsewhere, and obligates employers to make accommodations for disabled workers.

The ruling does not mean that anyone with carpal tunnel syndrome or similar conditions is automatically excluded from ADA protection, but it will make such claims harder to prove, lawyers said.