ADA Policy Brief Series #8: Implications of the Supreme Court's Decision in Board of Trustees of University of Alabama v. Garrett

February 26, 2003

SCOPE AND PURPOSE:

In February 2001, the U.S. Supreme Court decided the case of Board of Trustees of the University of Alabama v. Garrett, holding that Congress did not properly exercise its power under Section 5 of the Fourteenth Amendment to pass legislation holding states accountable for damages if they discriminated in employment against people with disabilities. This decision was important for two reasons: 1) it continued the Supreme Court’s agenda of curtailing Congressional power to enact civil rights legislation and 2) the Court’s reasoning called into question the factual underpinnings of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the history of discrimination against individuals with disabilities.

This policy brief examines the decision.