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Public Health Law Map - Beta 5 - Medical and Public Health Law Site

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is to ensure that patients have enough information to make an informed choice.<br />

Concomitant with that duty to provide full information is the duty to evaluate the<br />

patient’s full medical status. Legally, the ADA does not provide any immunity for<br />

certifying physicians or employers. Employers remain strictly liable under workers’<br />

compensation for any injuries the employee suffers due to workplace conditions. If the<br />

occupational medicine physician is an independent contractor (or in states that<br />

recognize the dual capacity doctrine), the injured employee may also sue the<br />

examining physician for malpractice for improperly certifying the employee as fit for<br />

the job. These legal <strong>and</strong> ethical problems make it questionable to agree to undertake<br />

pre-employment <strong>and</strong> job placement examinations that do not fully explore the<br />

examinee’s medical condition.<br />

The provisions of the ADA do not preempt specific federal laws <strong>and</strong> regulations on<br />

evaluating persons in certain public safety positions such as aviation <strong>and</strong><br />

transportation. However, the regulations do make it difficult for an employer to<br />

disqualify a person based on a threat of harm to themselves or to others. This conflicts<br />

with the increasing pressure on employers to protect fellow employees <strong>and</strong> the public<br />

from dangerous employees. The ADA’s limitations on preemployment inquiries on<br />

behavioral problems also conflict with efforts to encourage employers in businesses<br />

such as child care <strong>and</strong> delivery services to protect the public by screening for sexual<br />

offenders <strong>and</strong> other dangerous individuals. The ADA does not give employers<br />

immunity for liability for injuries caused by a dangerous employee.<br />

1. Drug <strong>and</strong> Alcohol Testing under the ADA<br />

Congress intended the ADA to be neutral on testing for substance abuse. Persons<br />

using drugs or alcohol are specifically exempted from the coverage of the ADA, <strong>and</strong><br />

tests for substance abuse are not regulated by the ADA. This means that employers<br />

can do preemployment drug screening <strong>and</strong> refuse to hire persons testing positive (as<br />

allowed by other laws <strong>and</strong> union agreements) without violating the ADA. Persons in<br />

the workplace may also be screened <strong>and</strong> disciplined without violating the ADA.<br />

However, the ADA does apply to a person who has “successfully completed a<br />

supervised drug rehabilitation program <strong>and</strong> is no longer engaging in the illegal use of<br />

drugs, or has otherwise been rehabilitated successfully <strong>and</strong> is no longer engaging in<br />

such use” or “is participating in a supervised rehabilitation program <strong>and</strong> is no longer<br />

engaging in such use.”<br />

The employer may adopt policies, including periodic drug testing, to ensure that such<br />

persons are not engaging in substance abuse. The employer may prohibit the use of<br />

alcohol <strong>and</strong> illegal drugs at the workplace, may require that employees not be under<br />

the influence of illegal drugs or alcohol while at work, <strong>and</strong> may hold “an employee<br />

who engages in the illegal use of drugs or who is an alcoholic to the same<br />

qualification st<strong>and</strong>ards for employment or job performance <strong>and</strong> behavior that such<br />

entity holds other employees, even if any unsatisfactory performance or behavior is<br />

related to the drug use or alcoholism of such employee.” The employer may also<br />

regulate or ban smoking in the workplace without violating the ADA.<br />

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