Comment by Avery E. Autin
Over thirty years ago, Congress enacted the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which was meant to provide a straightforward and comprehensive nationwide mandate to prohibit discrimination against individuals with disabilities. Since its passage, however, courts have struggled with its applicability to foreign-flag cruise ships operating in U.S. waters and using U.S. ports. In 2005, in Spector v. Norwegian Cruise Lines, Ltd., the Supreme Court resolved a circuit split in holding that Title III of the ADA does apply to foreign-flag cruise ships operating in the United States, but only to the extent that doing so would not interfere with the vessels’ internal affairs. While this decision rendered some clarity, it left certain questions unanswered—What are internal affairs, and do other titles of the ADA, such as Title I, also apply to these vessels?
This Comment analyzes the internal affairs concept and examines Title III’s applicability to foreign-flag cruise ships in order to argue that Title I should extend to protect American employees of foreign-flag cruise ships as well. Part II first condenses the relevant case law surrounding the internal affairs rule and then analyzes it to identify a pattern. Part III examines the circuit split that led to Spector, followed by the Supreme Court’s decision itself. It also discusses how foreign-flag cruise ships have since had to remedy proven violations of Title III. Part IV analyzes relevant case law regarding Title I’s applicability and suggests that American employees of foreign-flag cruise ships should be protected under Title I just as those on domestic ships. It then uses the overlapping analyses of Titles I and III to recommend congressional clarification of the ADA’s applicability to foreign-flag cruise ships. Part V briefly concludes.
About the Authors
Avery E. Autin, J.D. candidate 2022, Tulane University Law School; B.S. 2019, Louisiana State University.
Citation
96 Tul. L. Rev. 531 (2022)