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Legislation: New England States Region - 2001-2002 Archives


March 2001 - Massachusetts - Disability law is being tested in Massachusetts as the Supreme Judicial Court hears a controversial case

Richard Dahill, a Boston, Massachusetts resident, has recently put Massachusetts's disability law to test, with his recent case against the Boston Police Department. Dahill, has been denied the right to graduate from the police academy program, that he had been attending for 26 weeks, because he has profound hearing loss. However, with the assistance from electronic hearing aids, his disability all but disappears. The question now arises; of whether or not Dahill is indeed considered disabled under the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA), which would entitle him to sue. In 1999, the U.S. Supreme Court made a landmark decision that no individual with a correctable disability could sue their employer for either refusing to hire them or for firing them. Since states can apply their own interpretation of the anti-discrimination law, this case will prove to be a test for Massachusetts. There is great controversy surrounding this case, with much opposition to the inclusion of individuals with correctable disabilities to the ADA definition of disability. This case could ultimately change the face of the ADA as we know it, by further narrowing the ADA's reach.

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