Substantially Limits
Although DOL's Section 504 regulations contain a definition of the term "substantially limits," Supreme Court decisions that have been issued since the regulations were published have made that definition obsolete. CRC plans to amend this definition when it revises the Section 504 regulations in the near future. In the meantime, CRC is looking to other, more recent regulations implementing various Federal disability nondiscrimination laws for guidance on how to decide whether a particular impairment is a substantial limitation. These regulations define "substantially limits" in different ways: there is no hard-and-fast rule under any of these definitions. In general, however, the term means that an impairment either:
- Prevents the person from performing a major life activity that the average person can perform, or
- Significantly restricts the person in performing such an activity (as compared to the average person).
Generally, conditions that last for only a few days or weeks and have no permanent or long-term effects on an individual's health are not substantially limiting impairments. An impairment is substantially limiting if it lasts for more than several months and significantly restricts the performance of one or more major life activities during that time. It is not substantially limiting if it lasts for only a brief time or does not significantly restrict an individual's ability to perform a major life activity.
