Addiction, Alcoholism and Medical Cannabis at Work in New York

In New York, recovery from addiction is protected by disability discrimination law, while current illegal drug use generally is not. Under the federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), a person who is currently engaging in the illegal use of drugs is not protected when the employer acts on the basis of that use, but a person who has been rehabilitated and is no longer using is not excluded.⁠^[1][2] Cannabis follows separate New York State rules: one for certified medical patients and one for lawful off-duty use.⁠^[5][6]

Three layers of law apply at once: the federal ADA, the New York State Human Rights Law (NYSHRL) and the New York City Human Rights Law (NYCHRL). Each draws its own line between recovery and current use, so the table below sets them side by side.⁠^[1][3][4]

How the three layers treat drugs, alcohol and recovery

Question	Federal law (ADA)	New York State (NYSHRL and its regulation)	New York City (NYCHRL)
Current illegal drug use	A "qualified individual with a disability" does not include an employee or applicant currently engaging in the illegal use of drugs, when the employer acts on the basis of that use.⁠[1]	A person currently using drugs illegally is not protected in this regard by the Human Rights Law.⁠[3]	The definition of disability does not include a person currently engaging in the illegal use of drugs, when the employer acts on the basis of that use.⁠[4]
People in recovery	The exclusion does not apply to a person who has successfully completed supervised rehabilitation or otherwise been rehabilitated and is no longer using, or who is in a supervised rehabilitation program and no longer using.⁠[2]	The law protects a recovered or recovering alcoholic or drug addict.⁠[3]	For alcoholism, drug addiction or other substance abuse, "disability" applies only to a person who is recovering or has recovered and currently is free of such abuse.⁠[4]
Wrongly believed to be using	The exclusion does not apply to a person erroneously regarded as engaging in illegal drug use who is not doing so.⁠[2]	The State definition of disability includes a condition regarded by others as an impairment.⁠[7]	The City law protects against discrimination because of an actual or perceived disability.⁠[8]
Drug testing	A test for the illegal use of drugs is not a medical examination, and the ADA neither encourages, prohibits nor authorizes drug testing.⁠[9]	The regulation states that a test to determine the illegal use of drugs is not to be considered a medical test, and that the regulation is not to be construed to encourage, prohibit or authorize drug tests.⁠[10]	Nothing in the City law bars drug testing that is otherwise lawful.⁠[11]

Is addiction or alcoholism a disability?

Under New York State law, the Division of Human Rights' regulation states plainly that alcoholism and drug addiction are diseases.⁠^[3] It then draws the line at current illegal drug use: a person currently using drugs illegally is not protected, while a recovered or recovering alcoholic or drug addict is.⁠^[3]

Under federal law, the ADA lists "psychoactive substance use disorders resulting from current illegal use of drugs" among the conditions that are not disabilities.⁠^[12] The ADA's definition of illegal drug use does not include a drug taken under supervision by a licensed health care professional.⁠^[2]

Under the New York City law, the general definition of disability is any physical, medical, mental or psychological impairment, or a history or record of one.⁠^[13] For alcoholism, drug addiction and other substance abuse, the City definition adds a condition: it applies only to a person who is recovering or has recovered and who currently is free of such abuse.⁠^[4] A common mistake is to assume that active alcoholism is a protected disability under the City law; on this point the text says otherwise.⁠^[4]

For the general definitions, see what counts as a disability in New York.

What does "current" drug use mean?

The New York State regulation defines current illegal use as illegal use that occurred recently enough to justify a reasonable belief that the person's drug use is current or that continuing use is a real and ongoing problem.⁠^[3] The regulation adds that a person's successful participation in a rehabilitation or recovery program since the recent use is relevant to that question.⁠^[14]

Treatment, leave and accommodation

Under the New York State regulation, schedule adjustments needed for ongoing treatment must be allowed as an accommodation where reasonable, if the person is still able to perform the essential functions of the job, including predictable and regular attendance.⁠^[14] Where the employer knows of current illegal drug use, the regulation says the employee is not entitled by law to accommodation and may be terminated.⁠^[14] The same regulation encourages, but does not require, employers in that situation, or when an alcoholic's or addict's job performance falls below acceptable standards, to use a leave of absence with required attendance at a rehabilitation program, together with a last-chance agreement.⁠^[14]

Leave laws can also apply. The federal Family and Medical Leave Act gives eligible employees leave for a serious health condition, defined as an illness, injury, impairment or physical or mental condition involving inpatient care or continuing treatment by a health care provider.⁠^[15] New York State sick leave can be used for a mental or physical illness or health condition and for diagnosis, care or treatment.⁠^[16] The guide to how the leave laws fit together compares them.

How to ask for time off for treatment, and what an employer may ask in response, is covered in how to request a reasonable accommodation and medical leave as a reasonable accommodation.

Can an employer still enforce conduct and performance rules?

Yes, at each layer. Under the federal ADA, an employer may prohibit illegal drug use and alcohol use at the workplace, require that employees not be under the influence at work, and hold an employee who engages in illegal drug use or who is an alcoholic to the same qualification standards for employment, job performance and behavior as other employees, even if the unsatisfactory performance or behavior is related to the drug use or alcoholism.⁠^[17]

Under New York State law, the regulation says the Human Rights Law does not require accommodation of behaviors that do not meet workplace behavior standards consistently applied to all similarly situated employees, even when a disability causes the behavior.⁠^[18] Its examples include discipline for intoxication or impairment on the job by an alcoholic.⁠^[19]

In New York City, the law states that nothing in it prevents an employer from prohibiting illegal drug use or alcohol use at the workplace, or on-duty impairment from either.⁠^[11]

Medical cannabis: certified patients under New York State law

New York's Cannabis Law provides that being a certified medical cannabis patient "shall be deemed to be having a 'disability'" under the State Human Rights Law.⁠^[5] The State Human Rights Law lists disability among the characteristics an employer may not discriminate on, and it makes it unlawful to refuse reasonable accommodations to an employee's known disabilities.⁠^[20][21]

The same section sets two limits. It does not bar the enforcement of a policy prohibiting an employee from performing job duties while impaired by a controlled substance.⁠^[5] And it does not require any person or entity to do an act that would put it in direct violation of federal law or cause it to lose a federal contract or funding.⁠^[5]

A common belief is that medical cannabis patients have no job protection in New York. The State provision described above is Cannabis Law § 42(2).⁠^[5] That provision is State law. The ADA's definition of illegal drug use turns on the federal Controlled Substances Act, with an exception for a drug taken under supervision by a licensed health care professional and for other uses authorized by federal law.⁠^[2] How that definition applies to cannabis that is lawful under State law is a question to raise with a lawyer.

Off-duty cannabis use and Labor Law § 201-d

A different New York State statute protects lawful cannabis use outside work; it is not limited to medical patients, and the State Department of Labor describes the protected use as legal use by adults over the age of 21.⁠^[6][22] Labor Law § 201-d protects an individual's legal use of consumable products, "including cannabis in accordance with state law," before or after work hours, off the employer's premises and without use of the employer's equipment or property.⁠^[6] Unless another law provides otherwise, an employer may not refuse to hire, fire or otherwise discriminate against a person because of that lawful use.⁠^[23]

The statute has exceptions for cannabis. An employer does not violate the section if:

• its action was required by state or federal law or mandate;⁠^[6]
• the employee is impaired by the use of cannabis, meaning the employee manifests specific articulable symptoms while working that decrease or lessen performance of the job's duties or interfere with the employer's obligation to provide a safe and healthy workplace;⁠^[6] or
• compliance would require the employer to violate federal law or would result in the loss of a federal contract or federal funding.⁠^[24]

The New York State Department of Labor's October 2021 guidance on the statute says that observable signs of use that do not indicate impairment on their own cannot be cited as an articulable symptom of impairment, that the smell of cannabis on its own is not evidence of such symptoms, and that a test for cannabis usage cannot serve as a basis for an employer's conclusion that an employee was impaired.⁠^[22] The same guidance says employers are not prohibited from disciplining employees who use cannabis during work hours or use employer property.⁠^[22]

Section 201-d is not a disability law, and it has its own remedies. The Attorney General may ask a court to restrain a violation, and in that proceeding the court may impose a civil penalty of $300 for a first violation and $500 for each later one; an aggrieved individual may sue for equitable relief and damages.⁠^[25] The guide to off-duty conduct and Labor Law § 201-d covers the statute as a whole.

Medical questions and confidentiality

Under the New York State regulation, medical information obtained from a drug test, other than information about illegal drug use, must be kept confidential and may not be used to the person's disadvantage.⁠^[10] Other medical questions remain restricted. Under federal law, an employer may not ask a current employee whether they have a disability, or about its nature or severity, unless the inquiry is shown to be job-related and consistent with business necessity.⁠^[26] The rules for each stage of employment are in can my employer ask about my medical condition.

Retaliation for asking for help

Under New York State law, a 2025 amendment added requesting a reasonable accommodation to the list of activities protected from retaliation; it was signed on December 5, 2025, took effect immediately and applies to actions filed on or after that date.⁠^[27] The New York City law has listed accommodation requests as protected since November 11, 2019.⁠^[28] The federal ADA separately makes it unlawful to coerce, intimidate, threaten or interfere with a person exercising ADA rights.⁠^[29] See what workplace retaliation is for the standards.

Practical notes for employees and managers

• Employees: if you are asking for time or schedule changes for treatment, put the request in writing and keep a copy.
• Employees: keep records that show treatment dates and program participation; they may matter if "current" use is later disputed.
• Managers: write down the specific behavior or symptoms observed at work, with dates, instead of conclusions about a person's health.
• Managers: check whether a federal rule or contract applies to the job before acting on cannabis use, because the State statutes carve those situations out.⁠^[5][6]