I'm biased - with family members offering recruiters a range of disabilities, I used to cringe when I was asked to help them find new jobs. Recently the ADA Amendments Act of 2008 addressed many of the original law's shortcomings as well as Supreme Court rulings that whittled away the intent of the law.

The law will make it easier for workers to prove discrimination; it explicitly relaxes several stringent standards set by the court which essentially require the disability to be "construed broadly” to cover more physical and mental impairments. Supporters - groups concerned with diseases such as MS or epilepsy - are stating that the amended law would restore the broad protections of the original ADA signed in 1990. The White House has not given any indication if it will veto the new law...

A confusing element of the changes is that it clarifies that a person should be considered disabled even if mitigating measures can help the person function - essentially superseding the Supreme Court's decision in Sutton v. United Airlines (long but worth the read).

Regardless of the final outcome, recruiting has become just a wee bit more "technical."