Opinion ID: 767846
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Americans With Disabilities Act and Rehabilitation Act Claims

Text: 10 Petitioner CPT's claims that the Guidelines violate the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), see 42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq., and Rehabilitation Act, 29 U.S.C. 701 et seq., were not the subject of a final order by the FCC. While they were raised before a staff member, the Chief of the Office of Engineering and Technology, they were not presented to the Commission. Decisions of agency staff are not directly appealable final orders. Our review is limited to final orders of the FCC pursuant to 47 U.S.C. 402(a) and 28 U.S.C. 2342(a). See American Broad. Cos. v. FCC, 682 F.2d 25, 30 (2d Cir. 1982); see also 47 U.S.C. 155(c)(7) (The filing of an application for review under this subsection shall be a condition precedent to judicial review of any order, decision, report, or action made or taken pursuant to a delegation under paragraph (1) of this subsection.); International Telecard Assoc. v. FCC, 166 F.3d 387, 387-88 (D.C. Cir. 1999) (per curiam). 11 While we have said that the foregoing exhaustion requirement is not inflexible, we generally do not permit petitioners to raise an issue for the first time on appeal without giving the Commission an opportunity to address it, particularly where the issue is a novel one. See National Black Media Coalition v. FCC, 791 F.2d 1016, 1021 (2d Cir. 1986). The novelty of the claim raised here, that the Guidelines impermissibly discriminate against handicapped persons in violation of the ADA and the Rehabilitation Act, makes initial Commission determination both necessary and appropriate. We therefore dismiss that part of the appeal relating to petitioner CPT's ADA and Rehabilitation Act claims. 12 The remaining claims were the subject of a final order by the Commission and thus are properly before us.