How to Get Addiction Treatment and Protect Your Job
Good-paying jobs and a solid career path are difficult to come by at times, especially for individuals who have worked their way up in their position. Also, the time to look for a new job is difficult. Often, employees forgo taking medical leave to get treatment for substance abuse or mental health out of fear of losing their job. However, there are job protection laws and regulations that can protect you from wrongful termination when seeking addiction recovery or mental health treatment. Many workers are not aware of their rights covered under the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) and other labor laws, which stops them from taking much-needed time off to take care of themselves or family.
Job protection is the legal right that workers have to keep their job if they need to miss work because of family and medical leave, which includes treatment for substance abuse. These job protection laws require employers to restore you to the same or “equivalent” job, meaning a job with similar authority and responsibility, as well as some shifts or equivalent work schedule. Job protection can also protect your pay, benefits, status, and other employment terms and conditions
Labor and employment laws are in place to allow you to seek treatment from drug rehabilitation when necessary. The stress of life and work can cause many mental health issues, such as anxiety and depression, which some individuals turn to drug or alcohol abuse in order to cope. Over time substance abuse can turn into drug or alcohol addiction which requires help from rehabilitation programs to treat. Some addiction treatment programs require the substance abuser to stay in inpatient rehab for an extended period of time in order to successfully recover. Having job protection can help you get an adequate amount of help without fear of wrongful termination.
As a union member, you often have access to several employment assistance programs including job protection addiction treatment services which can help you more easily navigate federal and state work and labor law as well as have some advocating on your behalf to your job. Having someone on your side who knows the ropes will allow you to focus on your drug or alcohol addiction recovery and healing. Services can include helping you fill out the proper paperwork and how to take the right steps in order to ensure your job, salary, benefits, and much more stay the same when you return to work. Your privacy is also highly important and they will never share more than is required with your employer.
The Employment Protection Act & How it Benefits Employees with Addiction Issues
Federal employment laws regulate wages, hiring, hours and salary, harassment, employee benefits, paid time off, workplace safety, job applicant and employment testing, privacy, workplace discrimination, and other important workplace and employee rights issues. They serve as mediators between organizations and employers, government, workers and unions.
There are several laws in place that will allow employees to take an extended leave of absence from work for specific reasons including illness, the birth or adoption of a child, caring for a sick family member, or military caregiving or other emergencies related to family members in active duty. This is covered under the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA), however, this law does not include anti-retaliation provisions that protect against workplace discrimination towards applying for or receiving leaves of absence. It only allows employees to take 12 weeks paid leave of absence for these reasons. It also fails to protect over 40% of workers not covered under the Family and Medical Leave Act, including those workers in the private sector who employ less than 50 employees or have not worked for their current employer for at least 12 months.
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) can help fill some of the gaps not covered under FMLA. Covered under the ADA is employment discrimination against qualified individuals with disabilities is prohibited, as well as retaliation by an employer for asserting your ADA rights. This means you cannot be fired for taking a leave of absence to take care of an illness, including drug or alcohol addiction and mental health illness. There are several other labor laws and regulations in the US including the right to form a union, fair wages, and anti-harassment laws.
The Benefits of Having Job Protection When Going to Rehab
Having peace of mind that your job is protected while you need time off to take care of your health is invaluable. A job is much more than just a job. For some people, their work offers a sense of purpose and meaning. However, for most if not all people, it is how we are able to provide for ourselves and the rest of our families. Our employment and ability to provide for ourselves is so important, that we often put our jobs above everything, including our health, for fear of losing it. Many people put off getting adequate mental or addiction treatment until it gets too bad for fear of losing their employment. Having job protection addiction treatments means you can put yourself, your health, and your family first.
Job protection will allow you to get treatment for substance abuse or mental health help without fear of losing your job. Knowing federal and state laws and regulations about extended leaves of absence can remove fears of taking time off and push you to get help as soon as possible, which increases addiction recovery success.
When you take care of your physical or mental health, you take care of your job performance. You cannot keep up with your job if you are suffering mentally or physically, which could end up in getting fired because of a drop in job performance. The earlier you get help for addiction to drugs and alcohol, the less intense rehabilitation programs that are required, which mean a quicker recovery and less time off work.
How Our Job Protection Services Can Help you Recover from Addiction
Union First is an employee assistance program that helps public employees, union members and their families get behavioral health treatment while also protecting their job while they seek help. As you are aware now, there are several federal and state laws in place that will protect your employment, position, salary and benefits while you take time off for illnesses including drugs and alcohol addiction and mental illness disorders. Many employees and employers are not aware of these employment laws, which causes people to not take necessary time off to receive treatment for their physical and mental health. Through your union membership, you have access to the Union First employment assistance program in the event you need to seek treatment for behavioral health or mental health. Our employment assistance program helps you understand your rights that are protected under federal law and our team of experts will advocate for your job as well while you receive treatment for mental health or addiction to alcohol or drugs.
Our services at Union First go beyond job protection, we also include mental health and substance abuse treatment placement. When facing mental health illness or addiction, finding the right treatment facility can be overwhelming. This may be the first time you have come across this problem and not even know where to start to get better. Union First can help you identify what type of treatment you need, which facilities offer those services, what your insurance covers, who takes your insurance and the next steps to take. We use a network of licensed treatment providers, including drug and alcohol detox centers, residential inpatient treatment, intensive outpatient program (IOPS), partial hospitalization program (PHP) and outpatient treatment. Our team will assess your case, make treatment facility recommendations based on your individual needs, and go through each center’s benefits and features with you to help you make the best choice possible. Placement is the first step in the job protection addiction treatment process. Once you are placed into a facility our team will submit a “placement in treatment” letter to your employer as part of our job protection services.
We also offer telehealth services at Union First. Access to a therapist can be critical at times, but finding one can be met with roadblocks such as identifying one that takes your insurance, is located in your state, and offers the services you need. Union First has a private telehealth network of over 40 providers and can quickly schedule an appointment with a counselor who meets your needs and takes your insurance. You can have an appointment within 24 to 48 hours with a therapist instead of waiting weeks for an appointment.
If you would like more information about your union membership services that are included with Union First, please give us a call today!