Drugs, trucking, the law, and your rights. What rights to motorists have if you are prescribed opioids or are a recovering drugs addict? Opioid use and abuse have reached epidemic levels in our nation. This catastrophe’s far-reaching, affecting sectors and geographical areas, including truck drivers. Studies show that injured motorized vehicle drivers who tested positive for prescription opioids climbed from 1 percent in 1995 more than 7% in 2015. Opioids are especially dangerous for vehicle operators since they may cause drowsiness reaction time and diminished endurance. in response to this epidemic, the Department of Transport revised its drug screening procedures effective Jan.
2018 to include testing for many opioids like Hydrocodone, Hydromorphone, Oxymorphone, and Oxycodone. What happens if you’re a motor carrier that becomes aware that a truck driver worker who passed drug testing is using or abusing opioids, or other controlled substances? . Could you fire the driver. Or can your worker claim protection under the Americans with Disabilities Act. The ADA prohibits employers from terminating a person, on the basis of handicap. To be effective on an ADA claim, an employee claimant has to show that: he’s disabled, he’s a qualified person, and he suffered discrimination due to his handicap.
Under the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, those that are addicted to drugs, but are no longer using drugs and thus are receiving treatment for drug addiction, are protected by the ADA. So for now, addiction itself can be considered a disability under the ADA, the present use of illegal drugs bars an employee from ADA protection. But the answer does not end there. In fact, for companies in the commercial trucking industry, a handicap analysis under the ADA might not even be necessary. Rather, a trucking firm employer can answer this question by examining whether the drivers’ employee is a qualified individual, under the law. Since, to put it, if the driver isn’t qualified, then there’s no ADA protection. Employee drug use under the FMCSR.