Is it legal for my employer to fire me for taking medication prescribed to me by my dentist?
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Is it legal for my employer to fire me for taking medication prescribed to me by my dentist?
I have an impacted wisdom tooth. Prior to having the dental work, I needed to take antibiotics. While waiting for the antibiotics to take effect, I took the pain medication prescribed by my dentist. I work as a server at a local restaurant. I messed up a couple of plates. I was sent home and then fired.
Asked on September 26, 2011 under Employment Labor Law, Indiana
Answers:
M.D., Member, California and New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 13 years ago | Contributor
An at will employee can fire an at will employee for this, any reason or even no reason at all. So unless this violated existing company policy, a union agreement, an employment contact or is the result of some form of actionable discrimination, no law has been broken.
An employer has a great deal of discretion in terms of setting the conditions of the workplace. Whole this may seem unfair to you it is not the type of discrimination that is deemed to be illegal. This action was not taken against you based on your race, religion, national origin or other classification that would put you in a legally protected class. Additionally the ADA (Americans With Disabilities Act) also does not apply to your case.
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