US attorneys, health agency offer training on aspect of ADA

Staffers with the three U.S. attorneys’ offices in North Carolina and a health nonprofit agency recently offered a seminar on the Americans with Disabilities Act‘s protections for people suffering opioid use disorder and combatting discrimination against them in treatment and recovery.

Participants in the Aug. 28 program learned about the act’s coverage and its applicability to people with the disorder and the U.S. Department of Justice‘s work to investigate violations and enforce compliance with the act, a news release from the U.S. Attorney‘s Office for the Middle District of North Carolina says.

“Individuals who are in recovery and who have stopped illegally using drugs should not face discrimination when accessing evidence-based treatment,” Sandra J. Hairston, the U.S. attorney for the Middle District, said in the release. “The ADA protects individuals who are prescribed medication for [opioid use disorder] under the supervision of a licensed health care provider, and we will continue to work to remove discriminatory barriers to recovery.”

The seminar was hosted by assistant United States attorneys and civil rights coordinators from the Civil Division in each district and the Mountain Area Health Education Center.

The Department of Justice’s 2022 guidance on how the act and its protections for those suffering from the disorder is available at archive.ada.gov/opioid_guidance.pdf.

Complaints of violations of the act can be filed at ada.gov/file-a-complaint/.

The Mountain Area Health Education Center is a private, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in Asheville that provides and supports educational activities and services in Western North Carolina.