EEOC sues South MS shipyard over recovering addict’s job loss, opioid dependency
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- EEOC files federal suit representing worker fired for prescribed opioid use.
- Company cites safety risk, duties with heavy equipment, offer of assistance.
- EEOC seeks policies, lost wages, expenses, pain and punitive damages.
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has taken up the case of a recovering drug addict who lost her job because she revealed to her employer that she takes a prescribed synthetic opioid to avoid cravings and other withdrawal symptoms.
The agency alleges in a federal lawsuit that Bollinger Shipyard in Pascagoula violated the Americans with Disabilities Act by discriminating against Keely Senseney. Senseney, also referred to as “the charging party,” in the EEOC’s lawsuit, was excluded from work and eventually terminated after Bollinger learned she was taking the synthetic opioids, the lawsuit says.
In its response, Bollinger denies any wrongdoing, and says it has policies and procedures to deal with workplace discrimination and harassment, including avenues for addressing complaints.
The EEOC reviews discrimination complaints and, in many cases, clears individuals to file lawsuits over their claims, but the agency rarely takes on an individual’s case, as it has here.
“When deciding whether to pursue litigation, the general counsel will consider several factors, including the nature of the violation, the issues presented, and the wider impact the lawsuit could have on the EEOC’s efforts to combat workplace discrimination,” the agency’s website says.
Pascagoula shipyard hires defendant as pipe fitter
Employee rights attorney Brian Spitz, whose law firm practices in multiple states and abroad, said recovering addicts do have protection under the Americans with Disabilities Act as long as they are not using illegal drugs. Synthetic opioids used to treat addiction, he said, are considered medication, just as a cancer patient’s prescriptions would be.
“While they’re in recovery, they can’t be just fired,” said Spitz, who is not involved in Senseney’s case. The employer would need to go through an inquiry to determine how the medication affects the job, whether a primary function is compromised and how the job might be changed to reasonably accommodate the disability.
Senseney went to work at Bollinger in February 2024 as a pipe fitter. The lawsuit says she performed her duties “in a safe and competent manner,” but the shipyard denies this statement is true.
Bollinger also agrees that she disclosed her use of a synthetic narcotic, which neither side names. The most common medications used to treat opioid addictions are buprenorphine, methadone, and naltrexone, which are safe for long-term use. They normalize brain chemistry by blocking the euphoric effects of short-acting opioids such as heroin or semi-synthetic opioids like hydrocodone, according to the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
The lawsuit says Senseney disclosed her use of a prescribed opioid in March 2024, about two weeks after she started work. She says that she was involuntarily placed on an indefinite leave about a month later.
Bollinger questions employee’s fitness for work
Bollinger contends the company asked that she wean herself off the medication and offered to “financially support her” if she wanted to get into a treatment program.
Synthetic opioids, the company contends, don’t mix with pipe fitting because they can cause dizziness, sedation, confusion, drowsiness, and other issues that can impair motor function.
“Ship fitters have safety sensitive duties such as operating heavy material, tools, and equipment,” Bollinger says in its response. “Because the synthetic opioid that the Charging Party was taking could have negatively impacted her ability to safely perform safety sensitive duties,” risking injury to her or others.
The EEOC’s lawsuit says that Senseney had no safety or performance issues from taking the prescribed medication, which she needs to avoid “fatigue, body aches, chills, nausea and cravings.”
The EEOC asks that Bollinger be ordered to stop discriminating against people with disabilities and adopt policies to end discriminatory behavior. The agency also seeks on Senseney’s behalf compensation for lost wages, expenses such as medical treatment or job searches, pain and suffering, humiliation and any other expenses related to the job loss.
The EEOC also is asking that Senseney receive punitive damages for Bollinger’s “malicious and reckless conduct.”
This story was originally published February 25, 2026 at 2:54 PM.
