Struggling with addiction or mental health? We're here to help—request a call today.
Request a Confidential Call
Menu
Addiction is messy. Painful. Human.
Many people suffer from addiction at some point during their lives, and how they are treated during this challenging time can have a huge impact on their outcome and recovery.
If you are faced with an employee who is struggling with substance abuse, read this article fully and sit with all the options before deciding the best course of action.
Maybe. It depends on the employee’s specific situation. It is determined by whether the individual:
Whether an employer has to offer drug rehab is one part of the question; whether they should offer an opportunity for treatment and rehabilitation to a struggling employee is the other. Give this decision careful thought, factoring in ethical considerations and a cost analysis.
A person who is using or abusing substances can be legally fired for the following reasons:
In these cases, it is at the discretion of the employer to choose termination or offer an opportunity for treatment and recovery from substance abuse. Seeking a recovery program is always an option for an employee struggling with addiction and substance abuse. Our team at New Growth Recovery in Springfield, MA is ready to offer support to individuals who are ready to face their substance misuse.
It is always a better situation when an individual recognizes their problem, stops their use, and seeks help before their substance abuse is impacting their work performance. Once an employer has legal grounds to terminate an individual’s employment, it is fully up to them whether to offer an opportunity for recovery and rehabilitation or simply cut losses and end the working relationship.
If you know that you have a substance abuse problem, are ready to get help, and want to preserve your job, reach out to New Growth Recovery about rehabilitation options.
The ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) does not protect current drug users. According to the verbiage of the act, it protects:
Still, as explained fully by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the employer doesn’t legally have to provide accommodation under the ADA if “it causes an undue hardship, including significant difficulty or expense.”
The analysis used to determine undue hardship focuses on the particular employer's resources and whether the accommodation is unduly extensive, substantial, disruptive, or would fundamentally alter the nature or operation of the business.
There are no clear parameters regarding time since use to help define someone as a current user versus a former user. As a result, this designation is decided on a case-by-case basis.
Protection under the ADA (from termination) depends on whether the employee:
FMLA (Family and Medical Leave Act) gives eligible employees of covered employers the right to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave for specified family and medical reasons (including addiction treatment) with continuation of group health insurance coverage under the same terms and conditions as if the employee had not taken leave.
Addiction does count as a qualified “serious health condition” under the FMLA, but the employee must be proactively seeking treatment for substance use in order to qualify for FMLA coverage.
If the employee’s substance use has begun to impact their work to the point where their employer can legally fire them, it’s more complicated. At that point, it is fully at the employer’s discretion whether to allow or encourage the employee to seek treatment and return to their job or not.
There are several reasons why it might be in the interest of the business and people involved to offer drug rehab to an employee who is engaging in substance misuse or suffering from addiction.
Your employee is a person, not just an addict. Terminating them could result in their precipitous downfall, whereas rehab could turn things around for them.
In cases where recovery is possible and probable, it is worth considering the pros and cons of offering the employee an opportunity to get the help they need and return to their job. If compassion and kindness are core traits of your company, consider the ethics of living those values when a situation arises involving addiction or alcoholism.
You aren’t expected to invest in someone who regularly shirks their duties and lacks respect for the work they do and their employers. However, addicts are people, and in many cases, good people with a problem. Loyalty to your employees redounds in their loyalty to the company.
If you find yourself in a situation where a loyal, generally good employee is struggling with addiction, it can be a wise choice to provide the support and space for that person to get clean and then return to their duties.
Firing an employee who could be receiving rehab and come back to contribute to your company’s productivity will require you to pay for hiring and training a new employee, as well as for the vacancy period of the one you fired.
Given the extensive options available for rehab programs, such as those offered at New Growth Recovery, consider your bottom line before hastily deciding to terminate someone’s employment at the first sign of a problem.
Assuming that this employee is a real asset to your company, someone who is capable of good, reliable work, investing in the person’s rehab could be in the company’s interest as well. Do not rush a decision about what to do if an employee is struggling with addiction and wants help. Give it some serious thought.
New Growth Recovery offers treatment and rehabilitation options for anyone struggling with addiction. Programs are professional, discrete, and evidence-based. Consider the possibility that your employee could get the help they desperately need and return to work renewed and recovered.
Reach out today to learn more about our programs at New Growth Recovery, and learn whether one of our treatment programs can offer the level and type of help that your employee needs.
