By Mitchel Wilson
In Maresca v. City of New York, the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals concluded that the enforcement of NYFD’s zero-tolerance policy for drugs was not a pretext to discharge New York Firefighter Maresca because of his post-traumatic stress disorder (“PTSD”). The 2nd Circuit affirmed summary judgment for the City when Maresca tested positive for cocaine and he was fired soon after and solely because of the test results. Even though Maresca established the prima facie case because he was a sufferer of PTSD, his employer knew he had PTSD, and he was fired, the court found that the employer successfully rebutted the argument.
We assume arguendo that Maresca has established a prima facie case of discrimination, but nonetheless affirm the award of summary judgment because the record establishes as a matter of law that Maresca was discharged for a nondiscriminatory reason that no rational factfinder could conclude was pretextual.
Maresca next unsuccessfully argued that the zero-tolerance violates the ADA as addiction is a disability. However, the court did not consider this argument because he didn’t make it in his response to the defendant’s motion before trial. Lastly, the court refused to consider Maresca’s argument that he had overcome his addiction and was fit to perform his job because there were insufficient facts in the record for the court to make an informed judgment.
