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Appendix C. Americans with Disabilities Act Discussion
This discussion is reproduced from the February 15, 1994 Federal Register (59 FR 7311) for
your reference. The Department referenced here refers to the Department of Transportation.
The DOT Office of the Chief Counsel was consulted to determine the continued applicability of
the paper. The conclusion was that the paper was still valid and appropriately described the
relationship between the ADA and DOT drug and alcohol testing. Therefore, it is reprinted
herein without any modification.
The Americans with Disabilities Act and DOT Drug and Alcohol Testing
The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) (Pub. L. 101-36) does not, in any way,
preclude or interfere with employers’ compliance with the Department’s new or existing drug
and alcohol testing regulations. However, Title I of the ADA, which prohibits discrimination
against a “qualified individual with a disability,” may affect the personnel actions an employer
might wish to take with respect to some individuals who test positive for alcohol or drugs, or
otherwise violate the prohibitions of the Department’s drug and alcohol rules.
Title I covers employers who have 15 or more employees for more than 20 calendar weeks in
a year (§101(5)(A)). (Until July 26, 1994, only employers with 25 or more such employees are
covered.) Covered employers may not discriminate against a qualified individual with a
disability with respect to applications, hiring, advancement, discharge, compensation, or other
terms, conditions, or privileges of employment (§102(a)).
Before discussing the effect Title I may have on an employer’s personnel action following a
positive DOT-mandated drug or alcohol test or other violations of DOT drug and alcohol rules, it
is important to note the specific ADA provisions that address DOT drug and alcohol rules. The
ADA specifically authorizes employers covered by DOT regulations to require their employees
to comply with the standards established in those regulations, including complying with any
rules that apply to employment in safety-sensitive positions as defined in the DOT regulations
(§104©(5)(C)). By authorizing employers to require employees to comply with the standards in
DOT rules, this provision authorizes compliance not only with testing provisions of the rules, but
also of other drug- and alcohol-related provisions that affect safety-sensitive employees (e.g.,
pre-duty abstinence, on-the-job use). The legality under the ADA of employer compliance with
DOT drug and alcohol requirements, other than those concerning testing, is underlined by
several other provisions of Title I. An employer may prohibit the use of drugs and alcohol in the
workplace, may require that employees not be under the influence of alcohol, or be engaging in
the illegal use of drugs in the workplace, and may require that employees conform to the
requirements for the Drug-Free Workplace Act (Pub. L. 100-690, Title V, Subtitle D)
(§104(c)(1-3)).
Concerning drug and alcohol testing and its consequences, the statute further provides that
nothing in Title I shall be construed to encourage, prohibit, restrict, or authorize the otherwise
lawful exercise by entities subject to the jurisdiction of the Department of Transportation of
authority to (1) test employees of such entities in, and applicants for, positions involving safety-
Appendix C. ADA Discussion C-1 August 2002