EEOC Definition of Being Regarded As Disabled

The EEOC divides those situations in which an individual may be regarded as disabled into three categories: - Has a physical or mental disorder that is not substantially limiting, but is treated by a covered entity as one that substantially limits the individual in some major life activity; or - Has a physical or mental disorder that substantially limits major life activities only as a result of the attitudes of others; or - Has no disorder at all, but is treated by the covered entity as having a physical or mental disorder that substantially limits a major life activity. The first two categories are interrelated, since they apply to persons who have actual physical or mental impairments. In the first category, the employer treats a person's impairment as more limiting than it actually is, while in the second category, the person's physical or mental impairment would not be limiting except for the attitudes of others. The third category, on the other hand, applies to those situations where the person has no physical or mental impairment at all.