Opinion ID: 2468742
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Challenges Under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973

Text: Although not raised below, plaintiffs assert on appeal that Tennessee Code Annotated Section 50-6-241 conflicts with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), 42 U.S.C. § 12101 et seq., and Section 794 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 29 U.S.C. § 701 et seq. The argument is based solely upon the claimed illegal discrimination between workers whose medical problems are recognized by the AMA Guides and those whose problems are not. The pertinent provision of the ADA states: [N]o qualified individual with a disability shall, by reason of such disability, be excluded from participating in or be denied the benefits of the services, programs or activities of a public entity, or be subjected to discrimination by any such entity. 42 U.S.C. § 12132 (1995 Supp.). The relevant section of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Section 794 (formerly Section 504), provides in part: No otherwise qualified individual with a disability in the United States ... shall, solely by reason of her or his disability, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving federal financial assistance or any program or activity conducted by any executive agency or by the United States Postal Service. 29 U.S.C. § 794 (1995 Supp.). In order to establish a claim under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, plaintiff must demonstrate that he or she (1) has a disability recognized under the act; (2) is qualified for participation in the program; (3) is being excluded from participation in, being denied the benefits of, or being subjected to discrimination under the program solely by reason of the disability; and (4) that the relevant program or activity is receiving federal financial assistance. Thomas By and Through Thomas v. Davidson Academy, 846 F. Supp. 611, 617 (M.D.Tenn. 1994). To establish a claim under the ADA, a plaintiff must prove a similar set of elements. Id. Tennessee's workers' compensation system is obviously not operated by a federal executive agency. Moreover, there is no proof in the record that our workers' compensation system operates using federal money. Thus, under its own terms, the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 is not applicable. Regardless of applicability, the real flaw in plaintiffs' position is that Tennessee Code Annotated Section 50-6-241 provides permanent partial disability benefits to all injured workers with vocational disability, so long as there is work-related permanent impairment. It does not exclude any injured worker from receiving benefits based solely upon his or her disability. The fact that the AMA Guides do not provide percentages of impairment for every type of injury does not prevent a worker from recovering benefits. Section 241 explicitly provides alternate methods for determining impairment ratings for those injuries not recognized by the Guides. Thus, if the work-related medical problem resulting in permanent impairment is not covered by the Guides, the statute still provides a way for injured workers to establish entitlement to benefits. We find no basis for plaintiffs' claim that section 241 conflicts with so as to violate the federal statutes.