Illegal Drug Use Protected?

NicoleLee

I have prbably missed this quesiton on another thread, so I am just going to ask. Does the ADA protect individuals who have an addiction to illegal drugs? I know that alcoholism has/is covered, but what about individuals who are using chemical substances that are illegal?

any help would be greatly appreciated!!

Don D

Absolutely not. Specifically, current use of illegal drugs is not ADA protected. An alcoholic who may be recovering for the rest of his life after having completed a program typically is protected.

Hatchetman

Actually, ADA doesn't address alcoholism as a condition in the same way that it addresses drug addiction.

Alcholism has been held in court cases to be a disability. But it has to be medically disagnosed as a condition, meeting the same criteria any medical condition must meet to be a disability for the individual. There is NO requirement that an alcoholic employee undergo rehabilitation as there is for drug addiction in order to be "protected" as a disabled employee. The current use of alcohol that impairs the emplyees functioning on the job of course can and should be dealt with by the employer.

Don D

"While people with alcoholism may be individuals with disabilities, the ADA still allows employers to hold them to the same performance/conduct standards as all other employees. An employer may fire an employee who is drinking alcohol while on the ob if it has a uniformly applied rule prohibiting such conduct. BUT; there may be times when an employer may have to accommodate an employee with alcoholism. For example, an employer may have to modify a rule prohibiting personal phone calls at work for an employee with alcoholism who periodically has to contact his "sponsor" if the employee has a need to do so during work hours; and the employer may have to accommodate the same individual who on occasion may need to return to work a few minutes late after a 'noon AA meeting'."

source: The Americans With Disabilities Act: A Primer For Business. Prepared by The Office of Legal Counsel, EEOC.

This is the type of protection I referred to in my earlier post, above. I made no comparison of completers of drug rehab programs and alcohol rehab protrams, nor did I make the suggestion that alcoholics are required to attend a program. Alcohol, of course, is not illegal, whereas illegal drugs, by definition, are illegal.