SmartMuffin posted...
2) In this case, the people responsible for evaluating the risk potential are the people responsible for assuming the risk. Notice that the EEOC is not offering to guarantee this employee will not cause an accident and assume any and all financial responsibilities if he does. Nope, the company is on their own for that. So IF this guy gets drunk on the job, crashes his truck, and kills a family, the trucking company will be sued. The plaintiff will be able to EASILY prove that the trucking company KNEW this man was a drunk and kept him around anyway. They'll probably win a settlement in the millions. Who has to pay the settlement? Not the AMA! Not the EEOC! The trucking company! Who suffers the negative public relations hit? Is the local community going to blame the EEOC or the employer for the accident? Gee, I wonder...
Eh, reread the article.
Among other things, the employer was refusing to let truck drivers who had an alcohol problem and subsequently got cured go back to driving trucks.
I don't have an issue with "You must be healthy to do job X"--I bet NASA doesn't send astronauts into space if they need a quadruple bypass transplant. I do have an issue with "If you've ever been sick, you can't do job X ever again."
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Cats land on their feet. Toast lands peanut butter side down. A cat with toast strapped to its back will hover above the ground in a state of quantum indecision