A recent ruling by a district court has put into question the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s guidance on alcohol testing. The court rejected an EEOC suit brought on behalf of a group of employees who were subjected to alcohol testing by their employer, U.S. Steel. The EEOC argued that the test was a “medical examination” that was not a business necessity, which would violate the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The court, however, ruled that the company had demonstrated that the testing was vital for safety reasons, which trump the EEOC’s interpretation of ADA.
