PHILADELPHIA — A Pennsylvania wood products supplier faces a lawsuit from the federal government for allegedly making unlawful inquiries regarding disability and medical treatments to job applicants.
According to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), Appalachian Wood Products refused to hire an applicant for a factory position because he was taking suboxone without considering if it would affect the applicant's ability to perform the job duties safely. The company also barred other applicants who were taking prescription drugs for addiction treatment and allegedly required applicants applying for certain jobs to disclose their medications prior to receiving a job offer or assigned them to lower positions based on their medical inquiries, the EEOC said.
"Federal law prohibits employers from subjecting applicants to pre-job offer medical exams or inquiries, and strictly regulates post-offer medical examinations, so that applicants can be fairly evaluated on their actual qualifications," EEOC regional attorney Debra Lawrence said in a statement.
"As the country grapples with an opioid addiction crisis, unfortunately, there are many myths and biases about people recovering from drug addiction and the treatments for it," added EEOC Philadelphia District director Jamie Williamson. "Under the ADA, employers may test for illegal drug use, but medically prescribed suboxone or methadone are not illegal drugs. Rather, they are common and effective treatments for individuals recovering from drug addiction, and any possible side effects of those treatments must be assessed on an individualized basis."
The EEOC's lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania.