SearchNew York State Alcohol & Drug Legal Services
About Our Services | FAQs | How to Get Help | Publications | Accomplishments
The Legal Action Center (LAC) provides legal services to individuals with histories of alcohol or drug dependence on a wide range of issues, as well as back-up assistance to alcohol and drug treatment and prevention programs and other service providers who are assisting clients with their legal problems. Each year, LAC assists over 400 individual clients with alcohol and drug histories and 350 agencies that work with them, through funding from the New York State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services, focusing principally on the areas of discrimination, confidentiality, and treatment reimbursement.
Discrimination: LAC assists individuals suffering from discrimination because of their alcohol/drug history in employment, insurance, public benefits, professional licensure, housing, zoning, and other areas. LAC also assists organizations in: helping their clients who face discrimination, combating discrimination the agency itself encounters in zoning or elsewhere, and avoiding discrimination in their own hiring and disciplinary practices.
Confidentiality: LAC advises individuals, alcohol and drug programs, government agencies, and others that work with people with or at risk for alcohol and drug problems on confidentiality of treatment and prevention records, including the requirements of federal regulations governing Confidentiality of Alcohol and Drug Patient Records (42 C.F.R. Part 2) and the new Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) regulations (45 C.F.R. Parts 160 and 164).
Reimbursement: Welfare, Medicaid, insurance and managed care - LAC assists individuals and alcohol and drug programs in understanding the complex rules governing the receipt of both care and reimbursement.
To download "Legal Action Center’s Leading Cases," which contains legal citations and brief descriptions of cases brought by LAC, and other documents, visit the Publications section of this web site. section.
Frequently Asked Questions about Discrimination
Q. Is it illegal for employers to discriminate against people in treatment or otherwise in recovery from alcohol and drug dependence?
A. While the answer is not so simple as the question, the answer is usually 'yes.' There are two federal laws which prohibit employment discrimination against people with histories of alcohol and drug dependence, the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. The New York State Human Rights Law also prohibits discrimination against people on the basis of disability, including people in recovery. These laws do not allow employers to refuse to hire or fire a person in recovery unless the history of alcohol and drug dependence would prevent them from performing the duties of the job competently and safely.
Q. What if a job application form asks if I am or ever have been an addict or alcoholic? Or asks if I am or have ever been in treatment for drug or alcohol problems?
A. Employers are not allowed to ask these questions on job applications. They are permitted to ask about current or past illegal drug use and alcohol use, but they may not ask you anything that would let them decide that you have been addicted to drugs or alcohol. Questions such as "how often have you used drugs in the past?" or "how many drinks of alcohol do you have in one week?" are not legal. They may ask if you have a condition which would prevent you from doing the job. And they may offer you a job, and then require you to pass a medical exam or answer questions about your medical history - including past or current drug or alcohol problems.
But employers sometimes do ask illegal questions. For help in answering, call the New York State Division of Human Rights at (212) 870-8400, the New York City Commission on Human Rights at (212) 306-7500, or the Legal Action Center at (212) 243-1313.
Q. What if I lie about my drug or alcohol history?
A. We advise you to tell the truth about your drug or alcohol history, for a very practical reason. While an employer might not learn the truth, employers who do find out that you lied may legally deny you the job or fire you for lying.
To download free materials that describe these and related issues in more detail, go to Publications.
How to Get Help:
Individuals and organizations located in New York or who have a New York legal problem may call the Legal Action Center at (212) 243-1313, Monday through Friday during regular business hours. Individual clients should ask to speak to a paralegal. Service providers and agencies seeking technical assistance should ask for the "attorney on call." Agencies wanting information about organizing trainings should request to speak with the training coordinator.
LAC WILL NOT RESPOND TO REQUESTS FOR ASSISTANCE SENT BY E-MAIL TO THE LEGAL ACTION CENTER ADDRESS OR WEB SITE AND CANNOT SERVE "WALK-IN" CLIENTS.
For non-New York residents or for help with problems outside of New York State, go to National Legal Services.
Publications and Videos/DVDs
Free Publications Available
The Center has written a number of user-friendly publications for individuals and service providers, which explain anti-discrimination laws and privacy laws that protect individuals with criminal records, alcohol/drug histories, and/or HIV/AIDS. To download these and other Legal Action Center publications, visit the Free Publications section of this website.
The Center also has produced a free webinars series called Know Your Rights: Anti-Discrimination Laws Protecting People with Alcohol and Drug Problems and Criminal Records. To watch any of the webinars at any time, visit the Webinar Archive.
For information on the publications, videos, DVDs and online courseware that the Center sells, visit the Online Store.
Accomplishments
- Won dozens of victories in court over nearly three decades establishing the right of people in recovery and the agencies that serve them to be free from discrimination in employment, zoning, benefits, and other necessities of life.
- Litigated Traynor v. Turnage to U.S. Supreme Court and convinced Congress to overturn Veterans Administration rule classifying alcoholism as "willful misconduct," not a disease.
- Litigated Beazer v. NYC Transit Authority to U.S. Supreme Court and other cases to establish right of people on methadone maintenance to be employed.
- Won first ever United States Court of Appeals decision (in a suit brought against the City of White Plains, NY) stating that the Americans with Disabilities Act prohibits zoning discrimination against addiction treatment programs due to "NIMBY" community opposition.
- Successfully challenged the New York City Sanitation Department's medical disqualification of sanitation worker applicants with alcohol and drug histories. The settlement resulted in the implementation of revised medical standards that require individualized assessment of applicants with histories of alcoholism and those who have participated in methadone treatment for one year with no report of relapse.