Fresno pet daycare sued for revoking job offers after positive tests for prescription drugs
Federal officials filed an ADA lawsuit against a Fresno dog-sitting company on behalf of an applicant and a new employee who said they lost job offers when they tested positive for prescription drugs.
The applicant was prescribed Adderall by his doctor and the new hire took Xanax and methadone under her doctor’s direction, according to the complaint filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on Friday in the Eastern District of California.
The drug tests were conducted after each had already been offered jobs at Elaine’s Pet Resorts, which offers dog daycare and pet boarding at locations in Fresno and Madera, the lawsuit says.
The resort fully cooperated with the EEOC’s investigation, according to its attorney, Howard Sagaser. “Elaine’s intends to defend itself and strongly denies it has acted improperly,” he said on Friday in a statement.
Neither the applicant nor new employee were provided with the accommodations that were required of Elaine’s Pet Resorts under the Americans with Disabilities Act, the lawsuit says.
The applicant said his job offer in May 2021 was rescinded after the test came back positive for Adderall, which he takes for ADHD.
“The general manager stated to (the applicant) that she could not hire people with disabilities or have them around the dogs,” the lawsuit says. “During this same call, she also stated that it did not matter what prescription he had or whether or not he had a prescription.”
The other person represented in the lawsuit said she worked at one of the kennels for about two weeks in November 2021 before her test results showed she was positive for Xanax and methadone, which were prescribed for chronic pain, anxiety and a past opioid addiction, the lawsuit says.
She was then terminated, according to the complaint.
The lawsuit asks the court to award both complainants with lost pay and benefits, as well as compensation for pain and suffering.
The company should also be required to change its practices to avoid future discrimination, the lawsuit says.
