The New York Court of Appeals ruled this month that in order to sustain a claim under the New York City Human Rights Law (NYCHRL), an individual must actually be a recovered (or recovering) alcoholic and no longer abusing alcohol. In Makinen v. City of New York, 2017 NY Slip Op. 07208 (N.Y. October 17, 2017), two New York City police officers were falsely accused of abusing alcohol in the context of their respective child custody disputes. After being sent to the New York City Police Department’s Counseling Services Unit, the officers accepted alcohol treatment in order to avoid disciplinary action, all the while maintaining their innocence.
