Re: ADHD and Legal Issues

[Wgreen]

For what it’s worth, I found this nugget on the website of ADDitude magazine:

(°First, I should define an abbreviation: For people living outside the U.S., the “ADA” is “The Americans with Disabilities Act,” passed by Congress and signed into law in 1990 by the first President Bush. Among other things, it prohibits discrimination based on certain disabilities.)

“—I take medications for my ADHD. Do I still qualify for accommodations on the job?

—The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Sutton v. United Airlines, Inc., and again in Murphy v. United Parcel Service, Inc., that if a person has little or no difficulty performing any major life activity because s/he uses a mitigating measure, then that person will not meet the ADA’s first definition of “disability.” In other words, if you are vision impaired but can correct that impairment by wearing glasses, then you are not considered disabled. Likewise, if ADHD is successfully managed with medication, then it might be difficult to claim ADD as an impairment.”

So here we have a precedent.

What might this mean in an Ohio courtroom in this case? Since you have been diagnosed and are seeing a qualified clinician, it could come down to whether you are on any mitigating medications. And if not, why not? If you are, you could argue, perhaps convincingly, they don’t work very well. If you aren’t, well, you’d have to have a good excuse: inability to pay for them, serious side effects, etc.

But, but, but—ADD/ADHD might allow you to mount another interesting defense (if you’re brazen enough to try it): If forgetfulness is the main issue, I wonder whether you could argue you don’t take your meds regularly because… you keep forgetting!!?? And get away with it?

*Caveat: I am not an attorney licensed to practice law in the State of Ohio and so nothing I say should be construed to be legal advice. In fact, you probably should forget you even read this post.

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