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| Justices Limit Disability Law |
| By Associated Press |
| Published: 03/05/2001 |
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The Supreme Court limited the reach of the Americans With Disabilities Act, ruling February 21 that state workers cannot file employment-discrimination lawsuits against their employers under the federal law. The 5-4 ruling, a further cutback of the federal government's power over the states, said Congress exceeded its authority when it let state workers file claims seeking monetary damages under the 1990 law. The federal law does not trump states' 11th Amendment immunity against being sued in federal courts, the justices said. 'We decide here whether employees of the state of Alabama may recover money damages by reason of the state's failure to comply with the (employment discrimination) provisions of Title 1 of the Americans With Disabilities Act. We hold that such suits are barred by the 11th Amendment,'' Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist wrote for the court. Joining Rehnquist were Justices Sandra Day O'Connor, Antonin Scalia, Anthony M. Kennedy and Clarence Thomas. Dissenting were Justices John Paul Stevens, David H. Souter, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen G. Breyer. Writing for the four, Breyer said, ``The court ... improperly invades a power that the Constitution assigns to Congress.'' AARP lawyer Laurie McCann said, ``We're losing a very important aspect of enforcement'' of the ADA against the states. The AARP supported two Alabama state employees who sought to sue the state. Individuals still can file lawsuits seeking a court order without financial damages, and the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission can sue the states. But McCann said it was unrealistic to expect either avenue to be used in many individual cases. The ruling reversed a federal appeals court decision that let Patricia Garrett and Milton Ash sue over alleged bias in their state jobs. Garrett had been a University of Alabama nurse for 17 years when she took a four-month leave to undergo surgery, radiation and chemotherapy for breast cancer. When she returned, she said she was ordered to take a lower-paying job or quit. Her lawsuit said her supervisor made negative comments about her illness. She took the lower-paying job and later retired. Ash, a security officer for the Alabama Department of Youth Services, said his severe asthma was aggravated by the agency's refusal to enforce its no-smoking policy or repair exhaust problems on a vehicle he had to drive. The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled the two could sue under the ADA, saying the law canceled the states' constitutional immunity from being sued in federal court against their will. The Supreme Court said the appeals court was wrong. The case is University of Alabama v. Garrett, 99-1240. |
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