Recovering from substance use disorder is treated by the law as a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act.  You get protections against discrimination at your job because of this.  This means that an employer cannot refuse to hire you because you are in recovery.  If you can do the job, an employer cannot refuse reasonable accommodations for you to do it.  An employer generally cannot fire you because of your disability.  However, even though you have a disability, you must still qualify for the job.

Example: You apply for a job.  The manager in charge of hiring employees finds out that you are in recovery from substance use disorder and refuses to hire you because of it.  This is illegal discrimination.

Example: You are in recovery from substance use disorder.  You attend a treatment program every Wednesday from 5 to 9 in the evening.  Your boss changes your shift from 10 am to 2 pm, to 3 pm to 10 pm, causing you to miss your treatment.  If your boss knows about your treatment program and changes your schedule even though there are other people who could work the late shift, then this is illegal discrimination, even if the employer does not fire you, because the employer failed to accommodate the treatment program.

Example: Your boss knows that you are in recovery from substance use disorder.  He fires you and says, “I don’t want any addicts working at my store.”  Your recovery does not prevent you from doing your job, and you are not a danger to the public.  This is illegal discrimination.

Counter example: You have a high school diploma and are in treatment for substance use disorder.  You apply for a job that requires a bachelor’s degree or higher, and the employer hires someone with a bachelor’s degree instead of you.  Because you do not qualify for the job, this is not illegal discrimination, unless the employer did not hire you because of your treatment.

You must talk to your employer.  You must tell your employer about your disability and suggest a reasonable accommodation.  The reasonable accommodation must be practical for the employer to make.  You can read more about reasonable accommodations in this article.

This depends on your individual situation.  Talk to your employer and see if together you can come up with something that works for both of you.  Reasonable accommodations can include changing working hours to allow you to attend treatment.

Possibly.  If medication you are taking as prescribed by your medication assisted treatment provider causes you to personally experience side effects which create safety risks, your employer may be justified in adverse employment action.  Your employer cannot simply fire or refuse to hire you because of your recovery.  Instead, your employer must conduct an individualized assessment as to your ability to perform the job safely.

The reason an employer can do this is that some businesses have safety standards that protect employees and the public.  If the employer can show that:

• without meeting a safety standard, you would place other people at risk, and
• there is no way to go around this standard,
• then the employer can assess you to see if you can safely perform the job.

Remember to work with your recovery treatment provider to figure out ways that you can minimize the side effects of your medication and minimize how your treatment affects your work.

Employers do not have to accommodate employees who pose a direct threat to themselves or others.  The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has considered some categories of employees to be safety-sensitive, including but not limited to:

• Police officers
• Firefighters
• Armed private security officers; and
• Airline pilots.

Possibly.  Some courts have upheld the refusal to hire or reinstate nurses and doctors who lost their licenses due to substance use disorder.

In general, your employer cannot ask such questions.  When you apply for a job, the employer cannot ask about past substance use disorder unless the job deals with safety.  They also cannot ask questions about whether you have been in a drug or alcohol rehabilitation program.

Yes.  The law does not prevent this.  The potential employer can use the drug test results to deny employment if the results are positive.  If your prescription medication, including medication for recovery, appears on your drug test, you may be required to provide proof of your prescription.

Yes.  Employers commonly give conditional job offers.  A conditional job offer means that you are offered the job subject to some condition, such as a drug test.  So, if you do not pass the drug test, the employer may take back the job offer.  At this point, the employer can ask you questions about past or present substance use.  The employer may do this as long as he or she does it for everyone in the same type of job.

Yes.  Your employer generally can require you to take a drug test at any time, but you should check your employee handbook if you have one.  This test is allowed even if the test is not job related or necessary for the business.  If you test positive and cannot produce a prescription for a legal substance, you could be fired, suspended, asked to enroll in a treatment program, or other actions.

The courts have outlined a five-step process for employers to accommodate individuals with substance use disorder issues. Inform the known or suspected substance-abusing employee of available counseling services; Warn the employee of discipline if the performance issues continue; Permit the employee to participate in outpatient treatment; and If outpatient treatment is not successful, permit the employee to participate in an inpatient treatment program. However, if the employee completes the program but later relapses, firing that employer is generally considered reasonable.

When an employer looks to see if someone is a direct threat to the health or safety of others, the employer must look at your individual situation.  They will look at things such as how long you have been in recovery, the severity of the substance use disorder, how likely you may be to use the substance again, and what could happen if you did use the substance again.

If you may be a threat to the health or safety of others, then the person will look at whether you are a substantial threat.  A substantial threat means that the behavior is extreme or dangerous.  Only a substantial threat to the health or safety of others can be denied services.  You can show that you are not a direct threat by talking to the person yourself and showing them proof that you are in or have been in a treatment program.

First, consider talking to the employer.  It is possible that there could be a misunderstanding.  It is better to fix the issue informally if possible.

If you still think you were fired/denied a job/faced discrimination because you are in recovery from substance use disorder, you can file a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).  You do not need a lawyer to help you file a complaint.  You must file a complaint with the EEOC within 180 days of the incident.  File a complaint with your nearest field office, which can be located at http://www.eeoc.gov.  Or call (800) 669-4000 (voice) or (800) 669-6820 (TTY).

Or, you can file a complaint with the WV Human Rights Commission (WVHRC) by calling 1-888-676-5546.