Definition of disability in the United States
“Is my illness a disability?”
Since disability is a subjective term you will find all sorts of definitions out there, even for different departments of the same government.
In United States law, one definition of disability occurs in the Social Security Act.
The Social Security Act defines disability (for adults) as “inability to engage in any substantial gainful activity by reason of any medically determinable physical or mental impairment which can be expected to result in death or which has lasted or expected to last for a continuous period of not less than 12 months” (Section 223 [d][1]). Amendments to the Act in 1967 further specified that an individual’s physical and mental impairment(s) must be “. . . of such severity that he is not only unable to do his previous work but cannot, considering his age, education, and work experience, engage in any other kind of substantial gainful work which exists in the national economy, regardless of whether such work exists in the immediate area in which he lives, or whether a specific job vacancy exists for him, or whether he would be hired if he applied for work” (Section 223 and 1614 of the Act).
How Does SSA Determine Disability?
Determination of eligibility for disability benefits under the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) programs is an inherently difficult task. To qualify for benefits under these programs a person must have a medically determinable impairment. Although the existence of a medically determinable impairment is a necessary condition, it is not a sufficient condition for receipt of benefits. The statutory definition makes clear that these programs deal with work disability. While many of the factual determinations are relatively straightforward, others range from the difficult to the nearly impossible as evidenced by the lack of agreement observed in an examination of rater reliability as measured by the variations within and between states in the allowance rates by examiners.
You can find even more about the Social Security Act here.
Then- much like a play – there’s an Act II so to speak. This is the Americans with Disabilities Act. This covers things like discrimination in the workplace.
The following is excerpted from Wikipedia who have an exhaustive article on the ADA.
The ADA defines a covered disability as “a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits a major life activity.” The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) was charged with interpreting the 1990 law with regard to discrimination in employment. Its regulations narrowed “substantially limits” to “significantly or severely restricts”.
In 2008, effective January 1, 2009, the ADAAA broadened the interpretations and added to the ADA examples of “major life activities” including, but not limited to, “caring for oneself, performing manual tasks, seeing, hearing, eating, sleeping, walking, standing, lifting, bending, speaking, breathing, learning, reading, concentrating, thinking, communicating, and working” as well as the operation of several specified “major bodily functions”.[4] The Act overturns a 1999 U.S. Supreme Court case which held that an employee was not disabled if the impairment could be corrected by mitigating measures; it specifically provides that such impairment must be determined without considering such ameliorative measures. Another court restriction overturned is the interpretation that an impairment that substantially limits one major life activity must also limit others to be considered a disability.[4]
The ADAAA will undoubtedly lead to broader coverage of impaired employees. The United States House Committee on Education and Labor states that the amendment “makes it absolutely clear that the ADA is intended to provide broad coverage to protect anyone who faces discrimination on the basis of disability.”[10]
Please note that I am not a lawyer and no legal advice is implied in this article. Other laws may also apply. Laws and regulations often change so I advise you to check with relevant government websites for the latest information.
