Complying With the ADA When Managing Employees With Alcoholism

Quick Hits

• Alcoholism may be considered a disability under the ADA.
• Employers may be required to offer reasonable accommodations to workers with alcoholism.
• Employers do not have to permit workers to drink alcohol at work or be impaired during working hours.

The National Institutes of Health defines alcohol use disorder as “a medical condition characterized by an impaired ability to stop or control alcohol use despite adverse social, occupational, or health consequences.” About 29 million Americans age twelve and over had alcohol use disorder in 2023, according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.

Some workers with alcoholism qualify for protections under the ADA. Workers may qualify for ADA protections if they have a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits a major life activity, such as sleeping, eating, concentrating, learning, or performing manual tasks. Alcohol addiction may implicate several of these activities, such that it is categorically considered a disability in many cases. A worker with alcoholism may have other coexisting conditions that could qualify as a disability under the ADA, such as insomnia, depression, or anxiety.

If a person’s alcohol addiction qualifies as a disability, an employer must provide a reasonable accommodation, unless the accommodation would impose an undue hardship on the employer.

For an employee with alcoholism, reasonable accommodations may include Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) leave or sick leave, job restructuring, remote work, modified break schedule, or flexible scheduling to allow time to attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, therapy sessions, or even yoga classes.

Employers cannot harass or discriminate against employees because of an ADA-qualified disability. However, employers can prohibit workers from consuming alcohol during work hours or being intoxicated during work hours. They can discipline or fire an employee when alcohol use contributes to poor job performance or unprofessional conduct that is not allowed under company policies.

Employers cannot ask employees questions about an ADA-qualified disability, including alcoholism, unless it is “job-related and consistent with business necessity.” Unlike random drug tests, employers cannot subject employees to random alcohol tests, unless they have reasonable suspicion of alcohol impairment at work. There are exceptions to this rule, particularly for federally regulated safety-sensitive transportation employees, such as truck drivers and pilots.

Next Steps

When an employee is intoxicated at work, there might be signs like slurred speech, stumbling, or breath that smells like alcohol. Employers may want to carefully document the signs they have observed. They can require the employee to take an alcohol test if there is reasonable cause, including the aforementioned signs or a workplace accident.

Employers may wish to ensure that their policies and practices do not treat workers with alcoholism differently than workers without a disability.

Ogletree Deakins’ Drug Testing Practice Group will continue to monitor developments and will provide updates on the Drug Testing and Employment Law blogs as new information becomes available.

Christina M. Mallatt is a shareholder in Ogletree Deakins’ Indianapolis office.

M. Tae Phillips is a shareholder in Ogletree Deakins’ Birmingham office.

This article was co-authored by Leah J. Shepherd, who is a writer in Ogletree Deakins’ Washington, D.C., office.

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