Brief Amicus Curiae of NCD in Support of Respondents, Chevron U.S.A. v. Mario Echazabal

February 1, 2002

SCOPE AND PURPOSE:

NCD is pledged to support the letter and the spirit of the ADA and to preserve the integrity and bedrock principles of the law.3 Prominent among these are the equal opportunity and self-determination of persons with disabilities. Here, this Court is being asked to allow employers to shut the door on qualified individuals with disabilities who employers believe might be harmed by exposure to a workplace environment.

In this case, petitioner Chevron seeks to accomplish that goal by relying on a “direct threat to self” defense to discrimination charges created by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”). Such a defense is found nowhere in the language of the Act, is directly contrary to a plain and natural reading of the Act, and is inconsistent with the clearly expressed intent of Congress.