ADA Policy Brief Series #19 Supreme Court's Kirkingburg Decision and Impact of Federal Safety Regulations in ADA

October 21, 2003

SCOPE AND PURPOSE:

In Albertson’s, Inc. v. Kirkingburg, 527 U.S. 555 (1999), the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that the defendant employer was entitled to rely on a Department of Transportation (DOT) visual acuity standard as a job qualification criterion for a truckdriver position. This policy brief in the National Council on Disability’s Righting the ADA series examines the intersection of the Americans with Disabilities Act requirements with safety standards imposed under other federal laws, and the ramifications of the Court’s decision in Kirkingburg on this issue.