Handling Alcohol and Drug Addictions in the Workplace as per FMLA/ADA - Legal Risk and Court Interpretations

Why Should You Attend:

Every employer – large or small – eventually has to deal with an employee who has an alcohol or drug addiction. The costs to the employer are extensive – and not just in direct health care costs. Employees with addictions have absenteeism issues, production issues, and are more likely to have a work related injury. It is unfortunate when an employer has not had the foresight to have a solid drug and alcohol policy in place prior to facing with an actual issue. Without these policies, employees do not know what to expect, and employers wonder what they can legally do and what they should do as a practical matter.

This webinar will walk you through legal issues associated with addictions and how to write a strong drug and alcohol policy.

Areas Covered in the Webinar:

• Understanding addictions and why they happen even to “good” people.
• Signs that an employee may be suffering from addition.
• What underlying medical conditions can lead to addiction?
• How to handle an employee who arrives at work under the influence.
• Legal risks for allowing those under the influence to drive home.
• What obligations, if any, do you have under the ADA with regard to alcoholism?
• When the ADA’s safe harbor provision is applicable?
• How are courts interpreting “currently using illegal drugs”?
• The difference between the FMLA and the ADA when dealing with addictions.
• What your drug testing policies should include.
• Restrictions that might be placed on random drug testing.
• What is “reasonable suspicion” drug testing?
• How to use last chance agreements effectively.
• What Obamacare says about health insurance coverage for addiction health care.

Who Will Benefit:

• Human Resources
• Employee Benefit
• Labor Laws personnel
• Compliance Executives
• In-house Counsel
• Employment Laws Executives

Instructor Profile:

Susan Fahey Desmond, is a partner in the New Orleans office of Jackson Lewis, a national labor and employment law firm with offices in 49 cities across the country. She has been representing management in all areas of labor and employment law for over 25 years. She is listed in Best Lawyers in America for labor and employment law and has been named by U.S. Chambers as one of America’s leading business lawyers. She is also listed in Mid-South Super Lawyers, Louisiana Super Lawyers, and New Orleans Super Lawyers.

Topic Background:

Addictions issues are everywhere. An employee’s addiction usually affects his/her home life before it begins to show up at the workplace. With addictions being a “progressive” disease, once it shows up at the workplace, the employee has developed a high level of tolerance to the addictive substance, and, frankly, has lost the ability to understand that they could be facing severe consequences when they come to work “hung over” or they report to work under the influence. And, addictions don’t just happen to “bad” people. They happen to all walks of life – from your entry level employees all the way to your board of directors. Sometimes you feel compelled to give your employee a chance to overcome his/her addiction – sometimes you may be legally required to do so. What does the law require of you? What policies should you have in place to deal with employees with drug or alcohol problems? These webinar will cover these issues and give you practical insight into these thorny issues. Additionally, the webinar will cover cases where the employer “handled it right,” and, thus, won their lawsuit and cases where the employer “handled it wrong,” and why.

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