PENNSYLVANIA, USA — The Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania (UJS Courts) has agreed to pay $100,000 to settle a lawsuit against the courts and several counties under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The suit claimed that workers with opioid use disorder were discriminated against in written and unwritten policies and practices in at least eleven UJS Courts, restricting their ability to take medication administered by their health care providers to treat their disability.
The settlement will compensate six victims of the courts' discriminatory policies: two from Jefferson County Court, two from Blair County Court, one from Northumberland County Drug Court, and one from Lackawanna County Court.
The courts made each individual choose between taking their prescribed medication or face incarceration or termination from the court's respective treatment program. By forgoing their medication, the individuals faced painful withdrawal symptoms and the risk of relapse, overdose, and death, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Under the agreement, the UJS courts will provide training to all Commonwealth court criminal judges and treatment court professionals on the ADA and opioid use disorder medication. Three of the named county courts will adopt an anti-discrimination policy related to OUD medication that is attached as an exhibit to the agreement.
