Gambling addiction is not a disability, court rules

From Diversity Inc.:

An employee of a defense contractor developed a gambling addiction. He failed to pay $30,000 in casino debts and was arrested for larceny. He failed to inform the company of the arrest, as required by company policy and government contract.

When he finally came clean about the arrest and gambling issue, he was fired for failure to follow the policy. He sued for disability discrimination, claiming that major depression was his disability and gambling was a manifestation of that condition.

The ADA contains exclusions for several conditions that Congress viewed as "improper or immoral." Even if they are serious mental conditions, they are specifically placed outside the ADA's requirements for reasonable accommodation or other protections.

Compulsive gambling is one of these "sin exceptions." The court rejected the "gambling as a manifestation of depression" plea as an unsubstantiated effort to work around the exception. It dismissed the case. Trammell v. Raytheon Missile Systems (N.D. Ariz., 2010).