Medications and the work place

[Scrunchies]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? California

I'm epileptic and have my disease under complete control with medication. Since my first day at work I informed HR and my boss that I'm epileptic with a letter from my neurologist and everything. During the day I take Lamictal which doesn't impair me by any means, but in the evenings -- before bed -- I have to take Klonopin which certainly does since it's a heavy sedative. Impairment from sedatives isn't normally an issue since my work schedule is 9am - 5pm and I've never been told that I'm expected to work at night. A week ago I received a call at 2am from a vice president asking for help on an emergency computer problem (I'm an IT engineer). I was honest with him and told him that I felt it wouldn't be ethical for me to operate servers with sensitive data given the medication I was on but that I'd be happy to help another engineer verbally. I work with people's PHI medical data protected under HIPPA laws so it's pretty serious if I make a mistake. The VP wasn't very pleased by my explanation, but didn't really press the issue. The next day HR called and insisted that I submit to a drug test. Of course my test came back positive for benzodiazepines. Now HR is calling me about the company's drug policies and making me take HIPAA / ethics classes all over again. Given the awkward vibe I'm getting towards this whole situation I was wondering if it's legal for my employer to fire me due to a medication I'm lawfully prescribed. Benzodiazepines are anti-seizure medications and HR already knows I'm epileptic, so I'm not sure why they're treating me like an addict. Moreover I only take them before bed. Should I take the next step and consult a disability lawyer as preparation for any sort of retaliation my employers may take? One guy got fired last month for testing positive for opiates, but in his case they were not prescribed to him. I'd hate to think they'd do the same to me.

 

[Proserpina]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? California

I'm epileptic and have my disease under complete control with medication. Since my first day at work I informed HR and my boss that I'm epileptic with a letter from my neurologist and everything. During the day I take Lamictal which doesn't impair me by any means, but in the evenings -- before bed -- I have to take Klonopin which certainly does since it's a heavy sedative. Impairment from sedatives isn't normally an issue since my work schedule is 9am - 5pm and I've never been told that I'm expected to work at night. A week ago I received a call at 2am from a vice president asking for help on an emergency computer problem (I'm an IT engineer). I was honest with him and told him that I felt it wouldn't be ethical for me to operate servers with sensitive data given the medication I was on but that I'd be happy to help another engineer verbally. I work with people's PHI medical data protected under HIPPA laws so it's pretty serious if I make a mistake. The VP wasn't very pleased by my explanation, but didn't really press the issue. The next day HR called and insisted that I submit to a drug test. Of course my test came back positive for benzodiazepines. Now HR is calling me about the company's drug policies and making me take HIPPA / ethics classes all over again. Given the awkward vibe I'm getting towards this whole situation I was wondering if it's legal for my employer to fire me due to a medication I'm lawfully prescribed. Benzodiazepines are anti-seizure medications and HR already knows I'm epileptic, so I'm not sure why they're treating me like an addict. Moreover I only take them before bed. Should I take the next step and consult a disability lawyer as preparation for any sort of retaliation my employers may take? One guy got fired last month for testing positive for opiates, but in his case they were not prescribed to him. I'd hate to think they'd do the same to me.

Your condition won't protect you if your meds cause a safety issue.

With that said, this is from the EEOC itself:

May an employer ask all employees what prescription medications they are taking?

Generally, no. Asking all employees about their use of prescription medications is not job-related and consistent with business necessity. In limited circumstances, however, certain employers may be able to demonstrate that it is job-related and consistent with business necessity to require employees in positions affecting public safety to report when they are taking medication that may affect their ability to perform essential functions. Under these limited circumstances, an employer must be able to demonstrate that an employee's inability or impaired ability to perform essential functions will result in a direct threat.

For example, a police department could require armed officers to report when they are taking medications that may affect their ability to use a firearm or to perform other essential functions of their job. Similarly, an airline could require its pilots to report when they are taking any medications that may impair their ability to fly. A fire department, however, could not require fire department employees who perform only administrative duties to report their use of medications because it is unlikely that it could show that these employees would pose a direct threat as a result of their inability or impaired ability to perform their essential job functions.

It's a tricky area.

 

[Scrunchies]

Thanks for your response, I really appreciate it.

It is tricky because I take working while impaired very seriously, otherwise I wouldn't have been candid with the VP. Even though I just operate computers and not vehicles, damage can still ensue. It's because of that ethic that I submitted medical documentation and written letters from myself and my neurologist to HR and my boss (during my first week of employment) that I take sedatives at night to keep me from having seizures while I sleep. My boss and I agreed 3 years ago that a reasonable accommodation for my disability would be to not require me to be on-call (meaning available 24/7) especially during the hours of 9pm - 7am. There is an army of other engineers who are on-call to choose from. Unfortunately the VP who called me is 10 tiers above my boss seniority wise so I worry he may dismiss that agreement and consider my impairment during those hours a liability worthy of retaliation.

 

[justalayman]

I think this needs to be addressed under an ADA issue rather than a discrimination issue under the eeoc

And the boss 10 tiers up is still innumerable tiers below the requirements of the law

 

[LdiJ]

I think this needs to be addressed under an ADA issue rather than a discrimination issue under the eeoc

And the boss 10 tiers up is still innumerable tiers below the requirements of the law

I agree that its an ADA issue. However, I think that its possible that HR is not fully aware of the agreement he and his boss made regarding ADA accommodation. I think that needs to be clearly communicated to HR.