Camille Olson Quoted in Employment Law360

“Senate Panel Considers Expanding ADA Protections”

Camille Olson’s testimony before the United States Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions was quoted in the article, “Senate Panel Considers Expanding ADA Protections,” published in the November 15, 2007 edition of Employment Law360.

In both written and oral testimony at a hearing before the committee concerning Senate Bill 1881, Camille noted, “Under the proposed definition, almost anything less than perfect health would be a disability under the ADA.” She pointed out that the proposed expansions of the Americans with Disabilities Act would mean that the burden would be upon employers to prove that it would pose an undue hardship upon them to provide reasonable accommodation for even the most minor impairments. Camille testified, “Employers will find themselves addressing potential accommodation requests from individuals with high cholesterol, back and knee strains, colds, the flu, poison ivy, sprained ankles, stomach aches, the occasional headache, a toothache and a myriad of other minor medical conditions that go far beyond any reasonable concept of disability.”