Supreme Court limits ADA. (News).

On February 21, 2001, the U.S. Supreme Court limited the scope of the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in the case of University of Alabama v. Garrett. In a narrow 5-4 decision, the Court ruled that workers employed by state or local governments alleging job discrimination can no longer sue their employers in federal court for monetary damages under the ADA.

The majority ruling, written by Chief Justice William Rehnquist, held that Congress did not find enough evidence of state discrimination against people with disabilities to warrant the remedy of allowing employees to sue. However, Justice Stephen Breyer, in the dissent opinion, included a list of hundreds of cases of discrimination by state governments.

State and local governments are still required to abide by Title II of the ADA, and provide people with disabilities equal access to education, transportation, health care, and job training. But state governments can no longer be sued for monetary damages in federal court for failing to provide reasonable accommodations on the job.

The National MS Society will work with our partners in the disability community to explore other remedies to prevent employment discrimination by state governments. We will advocate for strong state laws that protect the rights of people with disabilities who work for state governments.

Use our Web site to join the Action Alert team. Team members receive federal alerts and updates electronically. They can e-mail elected representatives right from the site. Go to: <www.nationalmssociety.org> and click on "Advocacy". No Web access? Call 1-800-FIGHT-MS (1-800-344-4867), Option #1, and talk to your chapter.