Law.com Subscribers SAVE 30%

Call 855-808-4530 or email [email protected] to receive your discount on a new subscription.

The Corporate CounselorKickerFeaturesSectionsNewsLJN Newsletters

Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Under the ADA

By Beverly W. Garofalo and Nicole Anker
February 27, 2004

Employers face many challenges stemming from the fact that the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) protects alcoholic employees from discrimination, including, in some instances, requiring an employer to provide reasonable accommodations to the employee. The ADA also protects drug addicts, as long as the employee is no longer actively engaged in the use of illegal drugs.

The ADA's protection of alcoholics and recovered drug addicts raises questions about an employer's ability to respond to employees who have violated workplace rules prohibiting employees from being under the influence at work. For example, you have a long-term employee who came to work drunk in violation of your workplace rules. The employee states he is an alcoholic and requests a leave of absence to obtain treatment. Can you refuse to grant his request and terminate his employment without violating the ADA? Similarly, what if, rather than requesting an accommodation, the employee resigned and then, having undergone a successful 12-step program, seeks to be rehired? Can you lawfully refuse to rehire him based upon your neutrally applied policy of not rehiring employees terminated for violation of workplace rules?

This premium content is locked for Entertainment Law & Finance subscribers only

  • Stay current on the latest information, rulings, regulations, and trends
  • Includes practical, must-have information on copyrights, royalties, AI, and more
  • Tap into expert guidance from top entertainment lawyers and experts

For enterprise-wide or corporate acess, please contact Customer Service at [email protected] or 877-256-2473

Read These Next
Why So Many Great Lawyers Stink at Business Development and What Law Firms Are Doing About It Image

Why is it that those who are best skilled at advocating for others are ill-equipped at advocating for their own skills and what to do about it?

Bankruptcy Sales: Finding a Diamond In the Rough Image

There is no efficient market for the sale of bankruptcy assets. Inefficient markets yield a transactional drag, potentially dampening the ability of debtors and trustees to maximize value for creditors. This article identifies ways in which investors may more easily discover bankruptcy asset sales.

The DOJ's Corporate Enforcement Policy: One Year Later Image

The DOJ's Criminal Division issued three declinations since the issuance of the revised CEP a year ago. Review of these cases gives insight into DOJ's implementation of the new policy in practice.

A Lawyer's System for Active Reading Image

Active reading comprises many daily tasks lawyers engage in, including highlighting, annotating, note taking, comparing and searching texts. It demands more than flipping or turning pages.

Protecting Innovation in the Cyber World from Patent Trolls Image

With trillions of dollars to keep watch over, the last thing we need is the distraction of costly litigation brought on by patent assertion entities (PAEs or "patent trolls"), companies that don't make any products but instead seek royalties by asserting their patents against those who do make products.