Practice Management Alert

Question:  Is a drug addiction ever considered a disability, and if so, would that mean a staff member with an addiction is protected under federal antidiscrimination law?

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Answer: To put it bluntly, yes and yes.

“Drug addiction, including an addiction to opioids, is a disability under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act, when the drug addiction substantially limits a major life activity,” says the U.S. Department of Human Health Services Office of Civil Rights (OCR) on a Drug Addiction and Federal Disability Rights fact sheet.

“To be protected by federal disability rights laws, an individual with a disability, must be a ‘qualified’ individual with a disability, which means that the individual must meet the essential eligibility requirements for receipt of services or participation in a covered entity’s programs, activities, or services,” OCR says.

“Under these laws, qualified individuals with a disability may not be excluded from participation in programs and services, be denied the benefits of, or otherwise be subjected to discrimination based on the disability. In addition, covered entities are required to reasonably modify rules, policies or practices, provide appropriate auxiliary aids and services, or remove architectural and communication barriers to ensure equal opportunities for qualified individuals with disabilities,” OCR says.

Though the laws are written to exclude specifically people currently engaging in the “illegal use of drugs,” people who have had past dalliances or struggles with drugs are protected.

“Federal disability rights laws also protect individuals if they:

• have successfully completed a supervised drug rehabilitation program or have otherwise been successfully rehabilitated and are not currently engaged in the illegal use of drugs;
• are participating in a supervised drug rehabilitation program and are currently not engaged in the illegal use of drugs; or 
• are erroneously regarded as engaging in such use, but are not engaging in such use,” OCR says.

Resource: For more information, please see OCR’s website on the nation’s response to opioids, here: https://www.hhs.gov/civil-rights/for-individuals/special-topics/opioids/index.html.