EEOC’s 2021 Report, 2023 Budget’s Enforcement Increase and DOJ Issues Guidance on Opioid Addiction Regarding ADA
In the May 2022 HR Brief, we cover:
- EEOC’s 2021 Report and 2023 Budget’s Enforcement Increase
- In 2021, the EEOC resolved over 100 discrimination-related lawsuits and obtained over $485 million in monetary benefits for more than 15,000 victims of employment discrimination.
- Notably, the EEOC hired additional front-line staff, including intake staff, investigators, mediators and trial attorneys, after the agency’s staffing levels in 2020 had dropped to the lowest level in four decades.
- EEOC’s 2023 Budget Justification
- According to the budget justification, the EEOC’s 2023 priorities focus on three broad areas: racial justice and systemic discrimination on all protected bases, pay equity and the civil rights impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Drug Addiction as a Disability Under the ADA – Opioid Use Disorder (OUD)
- The DOJ’s guidance explains that individuals with OUD typically qualify for ADA protection and individuals in recovery from drug addiction may also qualify for ADA protection.
- The ADA’s protections do not apply if an individual is engaged in the “current illegal use of drugs.”
