Prescription drug abuse has made national news in the last few years. In March 2016, President Obama noted that “prescription opioid abuse and [the] heroin epidemic claims the lives of tens of thousands of Americans each year,” and that he was taking more steps to address the epidemic. He stated on Twitter that the “epidemic is harming too many Americans and their families,” but that “treatment works and recovery is possible.”1 This does not mean, however, that employers must not be mindful of federal and state disability laws that protect those taking prescription drugs for valid medical conditions. Two recent lawsuits brought by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) alleging disability discrimination claims in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) underscore the importance of engaging in an interactive process with job applicants and employees and providing reasonable accommodations to those taking prescription drugs for medical conditions.
Hiring Tips Blog

EEOC Increases Scrutiny of Employer Actions Taken Against Prescription Drug Users
Jan 1, 2017 | EEOC, Pre-employment Drug Testing
Recent Posts
- Cleveland Will Prohibit Salary Inquiries and Require Salary Ranges in Job Postings
- Avoid EEOC Complaints
- The “Gold Standard”
- US Replaces ‘Noncitizen’ with ‘Alien’ in Employment Verification Form of Foreign Workers
- Trump’s Immigration Enforcement Against Employees Has Been Gradual. That May Soon Change.
Categories
- Background Check Compliance (99)
- Background Check Laws (58)
- Background Screening (39)
- Biometric Identification (2)
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (1)
- Credit Checks (32)
- Criminal History Check (176)
- Data Protection & Privacy (96)
- E-Verify Issues (74)
- Education Verification (7)
- Educational and Childcare Hiring (28)
- EEOC (48)
- Employer Negligence (36)
- Employment Screening (134)
- Fair Credit Reporting Act (108)
- Featured Posts (1)
- Financial Services Hiring (11)
- Healthcare Hiring (2)
- Hiring Legal Compliance (1)
- Home Services and Repairs Hiring (6)
- Human Resources & Benefits (26)
- Immigration Issues (85)
- IT and Data Security Hiring (10)
- Medical & Pharmaceutical Industry Hiring (9)
- Occupational Fraud (10)
- Pre-employment Drug Testing (182)
- Retail Hiring (14)
- Security Services Hiring (3)
- Social Media (32)
- Transportation Industry Hiring (19)
- Uncategorized (1)
- Wage History Checks (4)