--- title: [Real Life HR] Asking About Employee Medications description: The Americans with Disabilities Act restricts employers from asking medical questions of employees and protects the privacy of medical information... image: https://blog.ahola.com/hubfs/medication.jpg --- Start typing and press Enter to search * * # [Real Life HR] Asking About Employee Medications [Home](https://www.ahola.com/) » [News & Events](https://blog.ahola.com/real-life-hr-can-we-ask-employees-if-they-are-taking-any-medications-that-may-impair-their-abilities-to-do-their-job) » [Real Life HR] Asking About Employee Medications [2024-01-26%2021:15:14](2024-01-26%2021:15:14) ![](https://blog.ahola.com/hubfs/medication.jpg) ## [Real Life HR] Asking About Employee Medications By [ Ahola Corporation ](https://blog.ahola.com/author/ahola-corporation)  Posted [ January 26, 2024](2024-01-26%2021:15:14)  In  [Benefits](https://blog.ahola.com/tag/benefits), [Employee Engagement](https://blog.ahola.com/tag/employee-engagement), [Human Resources](https://blog.ahola.com/tag/human-resources), [Recruiting](https://blog.ahola.com/tag/recruiting), [Safety](https://blog.ahola.com/tag/safety), [Training & Development](https://blog.ahola.com/tag/training-development), [Employees](https://blog.ahola.com/tag/employees), [Hiring](https://blog.ahola.com/tag/hiring) - - - - - Q: Can we ask employees if they are taking any medications that may impair their abilities to do their job? A: Generally, no. The [Americans with Disabilities Act](https://www.ada.gov/) restricts employers from asking medical questions of employees and protects the privacy of medical information. Asking about prescription medications would fall into the category of a medical-related inquiry and should only be done if job related and consistent with business necessity. For such an inquiry to be job related and consistent with business necessity, you must have a reasonable belief, based on objective evidence, that an employee's ability to perform essential job functions will be impaired by a medical condition or that an employee will pose a direct threat to employee or public safety because of a medical condition. A ***direct threat*** is a significant risk of substantial harm that cannot be eliminated or reduced by reasonable accommodation. For example, an automotive repair facility could require mechanics to report when they are taking medications that may affect their ability to operate heavy machinery safely. However, they would not be able to require administrative employees to do the same. Looking for more HR help? [Partner with Ahola!](https://ahola.com/request-a-demo/) *This Q&A does not constitute legal advice and does not address state or local law.* *Content provided by Ahola's Mineral Platform* ### Reply a Comment ## RELATED POSTS [![](https://blog.ahola.com/hubfs/charlesdeluvio-Lks7vei-eAg-unsplash.jpg) ](https://blog.ahola.com/is-your-organization-required-to-provide-fmla-to-employees) [Is Your Organization Required to Provide FMLA to Employees?](https://blog.ahola.com/is-your-organization-required-to-provide-fmla-to-employees) [![](https://blog.ahola.com/hubfs/canstockphoto95128523.jpg) ](https://blog.ahola.com/what-is-fmla) [What is FMLA?](https://blog.ahola.com/what-is-fmla) [![](https://blog.ahola.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/temp.jpg) ](https://blog.ahola.com/managing-employee-health-in-a-pandemic) [Managing Employee Health in a Pandemic](https://blog.ahola.com/managing-employee-health-in-a-pandemic) ## SUBSCRIBE ### Recent posts - [Professionalizing HR Without Losing Your Family Culture ](https://blog.ahola.com/professionalizing-hr-without-losing-your-family-culture) - [Why Encouraging Employees to Take Summer Vacation Benefits Your Workplace ](https://blog.ahola.com/why-encouraging-employees-to-take-summer-vacation-benefits-your-workplace) - [Ahola Named a 2026 Top Workplace — Six Years Running! ](https://blog.ahola.com/ahola-named-a-2026-top-workplace) - ### Topics - [Affordable Care Act (13)](https://blog.ahola.com/tag/affordable-care-act) - [Benefits (223)](https://blog.ahola.com/tag/benefits) - [Cybersecurity (1)](https://blog.ahola.com/tag/cybersecurity) - [Employee Engagement (255)](https://blog.ahola.com/tag/employee-engagement) - [Employees (603)](https://blog.ahola.com/tag/employees) - [Family Business Insights (10)](https://blog.ahola.com/tag/family-business-insights) - [Hiring (282)](https://blog.ahola.com/tag/hiring) - [Human Resources (645)](https://blog.ahola.com/tag/human-resources) - [Laws/Policies (26)](https://blog.ahola.com/tag/laws-policies) - [Managing COVID-19 (153)](https://blog.ahola.com/tag/managing-covid-19) - [News Release (56)](https://blog.ahola.com/tag/news-release) - [Offboarding (3)](https://blog.ahola.com/tag/offboarding) - [onboarding (7)](https://blog.ahola.com/tag/onboarding) - [Payroll (428)](https://blog.ahola.com/tag/payroll) - [Recruiting (142)](https://blog.ahola.com/tag/recruiting) - [Safety (121)](https://blog.ahola.com/tag/safety) - [Tax Compliance (230)](https://blog.ahola.com/tag/tax-compliance) - [Time & Attendance (124)](https://blog.ahola.com/tag/time-attendance) - [Training & Development (214)](https://blog.ahola.com/tag/training-development) - [Trending Topic (75)](https://blog.ahola.com/tag/trending-topic) - [Uncategorized (1)](https://blog.ahola.com/tag/uncategorized) - [Webinars (69)](https://blog.ahola.com/tag/webinars) - [Workers Comp (1)](https://blog.ahola.com/tag/workers-comp) [see all topics](https://blog.ahola.com/real-life-hr-can-we-ask-employees-if-they-are-taking-any-medications-that-may-impair-their-abilities-to-do-their-job#) ### GENERAL DISCLAIMER This blog is for informational and educational purposes only. 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