Carpal Tunnel Syndrome May Not Be Substantially Limiting

In a case decided by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that a former employee of a newspaper, who was unable to continuously type or handwrite as a result of arm and wrist injuries, was not substantially limited in the major life activity of performing manual tasks. In that case, the Ninth Circuit emphasized the Supreme Court's language in a previous case that to be substantially limited in performing manual tasks, an individual's impairment must ''prevent [ ] or severely restrict[ ]'' the person from performing activities ''that are of central importance to most people's daily lives.'' The Ninth Circuit noted that ''while most lawyers or law office personnel would undoubtedly consider continuous keyboarding and handwriting to be activities of central importance to their lives, we cannot say that is so for 'most people's daily lives.' '' Although the plaintiff was restricted from continuous keyboarding and handwriting, the court found that her condition ''does not stop her from using the computer or engaging in handwriting.'' According to the circuit court, ''she simply cannot pursue them continuously.'' Thus, even though the court of appeals conceded that plaintiff's ''life has been diminished by her inability to engage in continuous keyboarding or handwriting,'' being ''diminished is different from 'substantially limited,' at least as understood by Congress and the Supreme Court.''