I am back to my Monday postings. In my latest article, just published by the ABA GPSolo magazine, I discussed the legal parameters that an employer is faced with when it comes to dealing with an employee addicted to the Internet. This week’s case continues that line of thought, albeit with respect to alcohol
drug addiction
Addiction and the ADA: The “Current User,” Safe Harbor
When it comes to drugs and alcohol, those addicted to drugs and alcohol are not treated the same way as persons with other disabilities. For example, an employer has the right to evaluate an alcoholic employee or an employee addicted to drugs as if the disability didn’t exist. 42 U.S.C. § 12114(c)(4); EEOC interpretive guidance…
Is Alcoholism a Disability: Revisiting Miners v. Cargill Communications and the importance of pleadings
Ever since the first edition of my book in 2000 and in every edition since, I have discussed the case of Miners v. Cargill Communications, Inc., 113 F.3d 820 (8th Cir. 1997). That case illustrates the perils of what can happen when an employer perceives someone as being an alcoholic. In that case, the…
Did the Second Circuit really do that? Is the ADA retroactive
Since the changes are so radical between the Americans with Disabilities Act and the ADAAA in many ways, a question comes up as to whether those changes are retroactive to pending ADA cases where the facts occurred entirely before January of 2009. There are two U.S. Supreme Court cases out there that strongly suggest that…