The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is alleging in a lawsuit that the New Hanover Regional Medical Center in North Carolina violated the Americans with Disabilities Act by prohibiting applicants and employees from working there if they were taking a legally prescribed narcotic medication.

The EEOC alleges that several applicants and employees were denied hire or placed on unpaid leave by the center because they were taking prescribed narcotic medications. The EEOC said that such action was taken because New Hanover perceived persons taking narcotic medications as being disabled.

“In this case, the employer used a blanket policy to exclude employees from work just because they were taking certain legally prescribed narcotic medications,” said Lynette A. Barnes, regional attorney for the EEOC's Charlotte District . “The ADA requires that employers make an individualized assessment of an applicant's or employee's ability to perform his or her specific job.”

New Hanover Regional Medical Center operates a hospital in Wilmington , N.C. , as well as various other health care facilities in New Hanover County , N.C. , and employs approximately 4,700 people.

During fiscal year 2008, disability discrimination charge filings with the EEOC nationwide rose to 19,453--an increase of 10 percent from the prior fiscal year and the highest number of disability bias charges filed with the EEOC in 14 years.