A truck driver that was fired from large LTL carrier Old Dominion Freight Line, has been awarded $119,612 after a court determined it to be a wrongful termination.
The driver reported his alcohol addiction to the company under their “open door policy” in 2009 and was fired soon after. In 2011, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed a lawsuit on behalf of the driver.
Earlier this month, a jury came to the decision that Old Dominion violated the American with Disabilities Act by firing the driver because Alcoholism is considered a disability under the act.
According to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, a company must provide temporary leave in order for an employee that suffers from alcoholism to seek treatment. They also stated that firing a driver due to admitting alcohol abuse “endangers the public” because it may make them reluctant seek treatment in fear of losing their job.