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ARTICLE · 14 OCTOBER 2015

Employees Under The Influence: Disabled But Not Unfireable

Fox Rothschild LLP
Fox Rothschild LLP
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This week, the University of Southern California terminated Steve Sarkisian, their head football coach.

United StatesEmployment and HR
Thomas Basta
Thomas Basta
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This week, the University of Southern California terminated Steve Sarkisian, their head football coach.  The firing came after a cavalcade of headlines that Sarkisian, essentially the CEO of a multi-million dollar enterprise, was increasingly showing up at practices, team functions, and even games allegedly under the influence of alcohol.  The move came one day after Sarkisian took an indefinite leave of absence to enter treatment for alcoholism.

Obviously, we here at the Employment Discrimination Report wish Coach Sarkisian nothing but the best in his attempts to embrace recovery and put his life back on track.  But the way USC handled the situation with a high-profile employee offers instruction on how to handle employees with substance abuse issues out of the public eye.

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