While current drug use is not protected under the Americans with Disabilities Act, drug addiction is. Employers often struggle with the legal obligations associated with drug use and  distinguishing between current use and past addiction. The recent decision in Suarez v. Pennsylvania Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania Health System, No. 18-1596, 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 202098 (E.D. Pa. Nov. 29, 2018), addresses many of these issues in a particularly timely way, as the employee struggled with opioid addiction—which of course is much in the news.

Nursing License Limitations

Melissa Suarez was hired by Pennsylvania Hospital to work as a nurse in the emergency department in 2013. Suarez had a history of opioid addiction and at the time she was hired, her license to practice was subject to monitoring by the Pennsylvania Board of Nursing. The hospital was aware of Suarez’s probationary status and understood that the board’s monitoring did not prevent her from performing the responsibilities of a clinical nurse II in the emergency department. Suarez performed well and was even promoted to the position of clinical nurse III in 2015.