No ADA Violation for Applicant Previously Rejected for Positive Drug Test
Monday, March 7, 2011 at 4:06PM Plaintiff's previous application for employment was denied based on a positive pre-employment drug screen test. Years later, plaintiff applied again. The application was denied based upon the employer's one-strike rule. Plaintiff claimed a violation of the ADA based upon his condition as a recovering addict.
Claim denied. First the ADA prohibits employment decisions made because of a person’s qualifying disability, not decisions that were made because of factors merely related to a person’s disability.
Here, the triggering event for purposes of the one-strike rule was the plaintiff's failed drug test, not his drug addiction. Had plaintiff’s first application been made after he was rehabilitated, he would not have been eliminated from consideration despite his status as a recovering addict. Thus, the one-strike rule did not facially discriminate against rehabilitated drug addicts; rather, it eliminated all candidates who tested positive.
Second, nothing in the history of the one-strike rule indicated that the employer had adopted the rule with a discriminatory purpose. Rather, it was lawful for the employer to eliminate applicants who were using drugs when they applied for longshore work and to permanently disqualify such applicants based on safety considerations. The ADA and the FEHA protect people who are recovering or who have recovered from a drug addiction; they do not protect people who are using illegal drugs when they apply for a job.
Lopez v. Pacific Maritime Association (9th Cir. 2011) __F.3d__, March 2, 2011.
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