Marinelli v. City of Erie

At the time of its passage, many rightfully hailed the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) as comprehensive civil rights legislation. See, e.g., Statement by President George Bush upon Signing S.933, 26 WEEKLY COMP. PRES. DOC. 1165 (July 30, 1990) (stating that the ADA "promises to open up all aspects of American life to individuals with disabilities"). Notwithstanding its comprehensive nature, however, the ADAs employment provisions specifically limit its protections to those individuals who can establish that they are indeed "disabled." Upon the ADAs promulgation, both the House and the Senate stipulated that Congress did not intend the ADA to protect those who suffered from "minor, trivial impairments"; to the contrary, an individual is only "disabled" under the auspices of the ADA if his "important life activities are restricted as to the conditions, manner, or duration under which they can be performed in comparison to most people." H.R. REP. NO. 101-485, at 52 (1990); S. Rep. No. 101-116, at 23 (1989).