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Alcoholism

Accommodation and Compliance: Alcoholism

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About Alcoholism

Alcoholism, also called “alcohol dependence,” is a disease that includes four symptoms: craving (a strong need, or compulsion, to drink), loss of control (the inability to limit one’s drinking on any given occasion), physical dependence (withdrawal symptoms, such as nausea, sweating, shakiness, and anxiety, occur when alcohol use is stopped after a period of heavy drinking), and tolerance (the need to drink greater amounts of alcohol in order to “get high”). Alcoholism treatment works for many people, but just like any chronic disease, there are varying levels of success when it comes to treatment. Alcoholism treatment programs use both counseling and medications to help a person stop drinking.

JAN's Accommodation Solutions: Executive Functioning Deficits is a publication detailing accommodations for individuals with limitations related to executive functioning. These ideas may be helpful in determining accommodations. 

Alcoholism and the Americans with Disabilities Act

Is alcoholism a disability under the ADA?

The ADA does not contain a list of medical conditions that constitute disabilities. Instead, the ADA has a general definition of disability that each person must meet. A person has a disability if he/she has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, a record of such an impairment, or is regarded as having an impairment. For more information about how to determine whether a person has a disability under the ADA, see How to Determine Whether a Person Has a Disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act (ADAAA).

Does an employer have to allow use of alcohol at work as an accommodation?

No. The ADA specifically provides that an employer may prohibit the use of alcohol in the workplace and require that employees not be under the influence of alcohol. The Act permits employers to ensure that the workplace is free from the use of alcohol and does not interfere with employers' programs to combat the use of alcohol (EEOC, 1992).

Are tests for alcohol use considered medical tests under ADA?

Yes. Blood, urine, and breath analyses to check for alcohol use are considered medical exams, and therefore are subject to ADA limitations. According to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), an employer's ability to make disability-related inquiries or require medical examinations is analyzed in three stages: pre-offer, post-offer, and employment. At the first stage (prior to an offer of employment), the ADA prohibits disability-related inquiries and medical examinations. At the second stage (after an applicant is given a conditional job offer, but before s/he starts work), an employer may make disability-related inquiries and conduct medical examinations, regardless of whether they are related to the job, as long as it does so for all entering employees in the same job category. At the third stage (after employment begins), an employer may make disability-related inquiries and require medical examinations only if they are job-related and consistent with business necessity (EEOC, 2000).

May an employer subject an employee, who has been off from work in an alcohol rehabilitation program, to periodic alcohol testing when s/he returns to work?

Yes, according to the EEOC, “but only if the employer has a reasonable belief, based on objective evidence, that the employee will pose a direct threat in the absence of periodic testing. Such a reasonable belief requires an individualized assessment of the employee and his/her position and cannot be based on general assumptions. Employers also may conduct periodic alcohol testing pursuant to "last chance" agreements (EEOC, 2000).

In determining whether to subject an employee to periodic alcohol testing (in the absence of a "last chance" agreement), the employer should consider the safety risks associated with the position the employee holds, the consequences of the employee's inability or impaired ability to perform his/her job functions, and how recently the event(s) occurred that cause the employer to believe that the employee will pose a direct threat (e.g., how long the individual has been an employee, when s/he completed rehabilitation, whether s/he previously has relapsed). Further, the duration and frequency of the testing must be designed to address particular safety concerns and should not be used to harass, intimidate, or retaliate against the employee because of his/her disability. Where the employee repeatedly has tested negative for alcohol, continued testing may not be job-related and consistent with business necessity because the employer no longer may have a reasonable belief that the employee will pose a direct threat (EEOC, 2000).

Example A: Three months after being hired, a city bus driver informed his supervisor of his alcoholism and requested leave to enroll in a rehabilitation program. The driver explained that he had not had a drink in more than 10 years until he recently started having a couple of beers before bed to deal with the recent separation from his wife. After four months of rehabilitation and counseling, the driver was cleared to return to work. Given the safety risks associated with the bus driver's position, his short period of employment, and recent completion of rehabilitation, the city can show that it would be job-related and consistent with business necessity to subject the driver to frequent periodic alcohol tests following his return to work (EEOC, 2000).

Example B: An attorney has been off from work in a residential alcohol treatment program for six weeks and has been cleared to return to work. Her supervisor wants to perform periodic alcohol tests to determine whether the attorney has resumed drinking. Assuming that there is no evidence that the attorney will pose a direct threat, the employer cannot show that periodic alcohol testing would be job-related and consistent with business necessity” (EEOC, 2000).

Accommodating Employees with Alcoholism

People with alcoholism may develop some of the limitations discussed below, but seldom develop all of them. Also, the degree of limitation will vary among individuals. Be aware that not all people with alcoholism will need accommodations to perform their jobs and many others may only need a few accommodations. The following is only a sample of the possibilities available. Numerous other accommodation solutions may exist.

Questions to Consider:

  1. What limitations is the employee experiencing?
  2. How do these limitations affect the employee and the employee’s job performance?
  3. What specific job tasks are problematic as a result of these limitations?
  4. What accommodations are available to reduce or eliminate these problems? Are all possible resources being used to determine possible accommodations?
  5. Once accommodations are in place, would it be useful to meet with the employee to evaluate the effectiveness of the accommodations and to determine whether additional accommodations are needed?
  6. Do supervisory personnel and employees need training?

Accommodation Ideas:

Situations and Solutions:

The following situations and solutions are real-life examples of accommodations that were made by JAN customers. Because accommodations are made on a case-by-case basis, these examples may not be effective for every workplace but give you an idea about the types of accommodations that are possible.

Events Regarding Alcoholism

Other Information Regarding Alcoholism

Organizations

Addiction Center
Addiction Resource Guide
Alcoholics Anonymous
AllTreatment.com
American Psychiatric Association
American Society of Addiction Medicine
Anxiety and Depression Association of America
Clinical and Research Institute on Addictions
Job Accommodation Network
MedlinePlus
Mental Health America
National Center for Biotechnology Information
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism
Office of Disability Employment Policy
Remedy's Health Communites
Start Your Recovery
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
Suicide Prevention Resources
The Foundation for Peripheral Neuropathy
World Health Organization