A Clear Path Through the Labyrinth: A Case for Allowing Victims of Employment Retaliation and Coercion to Recover Legal Damages Under the Americans with Disabilities Act

Abstract

More than a decade after Congress passed the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) and expanded the remedies available for disability discrimination in employment with the Civil Rights Act of 1991, the Seventh Circuit in Kramer v. Banc of America Securities, 355 F.3d 961 (7th Cir. 2004) became the first federal appellate court to determine that victims of ADA retaliation and coercion in employment are ineligible for legal damages and jury trials. After detailing the law and analysis implicated by this issue, this Note will assert that, based on the language, structure, and legislative histories of the ADA and the Civil Rights Act of 1991, the Seventh Circuit erred in its approach and conclusion. Furthermore, allowing victims of ADA retaliation and coercion in employment to recover punitive and compensatory damages is necessary to effectively further the ADA's anti-discrimination goals.

Keywords: ADA, retaliation, Kramer, legal damages