444 CLACKAMAS GASTROENTEROLOGY ASSOCIATES,
P. C. v. WELLS
Opinion of the Court
reasons for exempting small employers from the coverage of the Act should apply to petitioner. Id., at 906-909 (opinion of Graber, J.).
We granted certiorari to resolve the conflict in the Circuits, which extends beyond the Seventh and the Second Circuits.3 536 U. S. 990 (2002).
II
"We have often been asked to construe the meaning of 'employee' where the statute containing the term does not helpfully define it." Nationwide Mut. Ins. Co. v. Darden, 503 U. S. 318, 322 (1992). The definition of the term in the ADA simply states that an "employee" is "an individual employed by an employer." 42 U. S. C. § 12111(4). That surely qualifies as a mere "nominal definition" that is "completely circular and explains nothing." Darden, 503 U. S., at 323. As we explained in Darden, our cases construing similar language give us guidance on how best to fill the gap in the statutory text.
In Darden we were faced with the question whether an insurance salesman was an independent contractor or an "employee" covered by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). Because ERISA's definition of "employee" was "completely circular," 503 U. S., at 323, we followed the same general approach that we had previously used in deciding whether a sculptor was an "employee" within the meaning of the Copyright Act of 1976, see Community for Creative Non-Violence v. Reid, 490 U. S. 730
tions. Or. Rev. Stat. § 58.379. Lastly, Or. Rev. Stat. §§ 58.375 through 58.389 contain impediments to the transfer of shares and other corporate activities." 271 F. 3d, at 907-908 (opinion of Graber, J.) (footnote omitted).
3 The disagreement in the Circuits is not confined to the particulars of the ADA. For example, the Seventh Circuit's decision in EEOC v. Dowd & Dowd, Ltd., 736 F. 2d 1177 (1984), concerned Title VII, and the Second Circuit's opinion in Hyland v. New Haven Radiology Associates, P. C., 794 F. 2d 793 (1986), involved the ADEA. See also Devine v. Stone, Leyton & Gershman, P. C., 100 F. 3d 78 (CA8 1996) (Title VII case).
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