Albertson's, Inc. v. Kirkingburg, 527 U.S. 555, 9 (1999)

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Cite as: 527 U. S. 555 (1999)

Opinion of the Court

"The term 'disability' means, with respect to an individual—

"(A) a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of the major life activities of such individual;

"(B) a record of such an impairment; or "(C) being regarded as having such an impairment." 42 U. S. C. § 12102(2).

We are concerned only with the first definition.9 There is no dispute either that Kirkingburg's amblyopia is a physical impairment within the meaning of the Act, see 29 CFR § 1630.2(h)(1) (1998) (defining "physical impairment" as "[a]ny physiological disorder, or condition . . . affecting one or more of the following body systems: . . . special sense organs"), or that seeing is one of his major life activities, see § 1630.2(i) (giving seeing as an example of a major life activity).10 The

question is whether his monocular vision alone "substantially limits" Kirkingburg's seeing.

In giving its affirmative answer, the Ninth Circuit relied on a regulation issued by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), defining "substantially limits" as "[s]ignificantly restrict[s] as to the condition, manner or duration under which an individual can perform a particular major life activity as compared to the condition, manner, or duration under which the average person in the gen-9 The Ninth Circuit also discussed whether Kirkingburg was disabled under the third, "regarded as," definition of "disability." See 143 F. 3d, at 1233. Albertson's did not challenge that aspect of the Court of Appeals's decision in its petition for certiorari, and we therefore do not address it. See this Court's Rule 14.1(a); see also, e. g., Yee v. Escondido, 503 U. S. 519, 535 (1992).

10 As the parties have not questioned the regulations and interpretive guidance promulgated by the EEOC relating to the ADA's definitional section, 42 U. S. C. § 12102, for the purposes of this case, we assume, without deciding, that such regulations are valid, and we have no occasion to decide what level of deference, if any, they are due, see Sutton v. United Airlines, Inc., ante, at 479-480.

563

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