dixied

Could anyone please tell me if the American Disabilities Act affects recovering drug addicts in any way? Does it offer them any protection? Also if you are following the twelve steps isn't it better to be upfront with a prospective employer and tell them that you are in recovery? I have read of an excellent female reporter on CNN who was up for a great promotion and didn't get it because she was in recovery going on two years. Rather than make a big deal over it she just decided her HP had something better in store for her. I was so impressed by her take on the whole situation. I just wondered how many RA face a tough time getting jobs and how they handle it. Just a thought........dixie

best

I filled out an app that asked if you smoke ciggarettes...yes.. no.
I just didn't answer the question. I thought it was none of their business what I do on my own personal time.
If ever asked if I drink, I would just say no I do not. I don't need give my clean time and I feel it is no of their busness.

finallyout

Not sure if this answers your questions, but in my work in human resources I have learned that the ADA is about what "accomodations" the employers have to make for people with disabilities. I'm not sure a RA would need any accomodations at work??? The Family Medical Leave Act does protect them when going to inpatient treatment, but only at certain "medical facilities", which honestly the law is very vague there about what qualifies and what doesn't. And as someone who has hired (and fired) many individuals -NEVER bring up your personal issues. No matter how open minded your employer is they NEVER want to hear about alcoholism or drug addicition. Just keep it to yourself. It IS against the law for employers to base their hiring decision on whether or not your an addict but it is NOT against the law for them to just ASK. Of course, if they ask and you tell that you are a RA and they don't hire you, they will only cover their assess by claiming their decision was based on something else, so it is very difficult to claim discrimmination when it comes to that. Hope I helped.
Jenna

dixied

just to get it through my THICK head..........here is the scenario.........you are in an interview ...all is going well. You are a recovering addict. The interviewer says point blank.........have you ever had a problem with drugs? And your reply would be..........? He has asked so how would you answer? Also if you were asked to resign from your last job due to problems related to drug usuage legally is that employer bound by law to explain that in a solicited reference by a prospective employer IF you did in fact resign and were not terminated? My son has asked me these questions. I have volunteered no info. other than for him to search the web and perhaps speak to an attorney(who is a family friend) about the correct and legal way to handle these questions. I guess we are wondering if they ask point blank ask questions then you are put in a position to answer and that is the concern of his. He doesn't want to lie by omission........anyway thanks for all of the help. dixie (He goes for a couple of interviews tomorrow. He is really trying and my heart goes out to him. He is just nervous .)

teke

i don't have any answers but i am glad to hear that your son is doing well and i'll keep him and his job search in my prayers

kj0975

I have never been asked any of these ?'s at one of my 100's of interviews. Alot of places just do drug tests now and that would answer the ? and they dont have to ask. Tell him not to offer any info just yes and no and roll with it. Thats what I usually do just sell myself as a great employee and thats it. Also tell him to act very interested and ask some ?'s that show interest and perspective employers like that.

finallyout

Hey dixie, I agree with everyone else. The answer should be NO. In the event that the prospective employer calls a previous employer to verify employment, by LAW the previous employer is bound by privacy laws and can only verify that the person worked there, and the dates of employment. Of course the prospective employer can ask other questions and depending on how well informed the previous employer is they or may not answer them. Generally, when employers verify past employment they are really only looking to see if you were honest about where and when you worked. Smaller, less informed employers might seek out more info. though. If thats the case, and they get a bad report, chances are you'd never hear from them again and wouldn't have to answer to it anyway. Good luck to your son, I'll keep him in my prayers.
Jenna

liesagain

not sure if this helps but...................
my AH told one of his employers many years ago........up front about the drug history and his criminal history......but this was when he was clean.
Later he went to another company.big promotion and we discussed this at length..he decided not to tell...............several years later relapsed and everything came out anyway and the boss........just kept saying "I wish I had known, if I only knew he was an addict........maybe I would have put 2 and 2 together and this could have been prevented"

My AH says today..........that keeping his addiction and his past secret was a mistake he should have been honest..............

Good luck to you..

oh yeah.....not sure about the ADA but if the company is a drug free work place there are certain protections avalible to the addict........like the opportunity for rehab rather than losing the job...if they test dirty..........

dixied

thank you to all who answered. I'll give a little background. my son worked in the family business and because it is a family seasonal business (he worked with us for five years) we had no clue he had a problem. Work was in spurts, travel involved , no 9-5 work hours so we didn't pick up on his problem. So my dh tells son up front.......don't list him (meaning dh as a reference) so that is four years and no reference right there. The last place he worked was for a publishing institution and he wrote many published magazine pieces (two won national awards with his byline) well to cut a long story short that place of employment agreed to let him go to rehab . for 30 days but it wasn't enough.....he relapsed.....so they offered him to resign rather than be fired. At first when I wanted to place blame on everybody (my fault for going down that road) I said (1) the employer was to have been in contact with son's counselor if anything looked amiss(she was told by the counselor to do this to head off any relapse issue)...she saw the signs and never bothered to alert the counselor oranyone not even son's wife. I thought that was unfeeling and uncaring on her part. IMHO I think she saw a train wreck coming and wanted a way out for her department. (2) When she offered him the resign rather than

dixied

sorry......I messed up the previous post....... I will continue here...so when she (boss)offered him the chance to resign rather than get fired he was "under the influence" and he took it. And this facility is a drug free workplace and it was no secret he was battling a problem. Anyway he is now six months clean and returning home from rehab. His wife tells me while she works he cares for their little boy, cleans the house, prepares the dinner meal, works on his resume', and has applied for five jobs. Please pray that someone somewhere will see his potential and will give him a chance. I just feel that if someone out there has faith in him it just might be what he needs to continue on....my thanks to all of you......dixie