A teacher at a vocational high school in Costa Rica was wrongfully terminated and must be given his job back despite his addiction to alcohol and crack cocaine. Such was the ruling of “Sala Cuarta,” Costa Rica’s Constitutional Chamber, which is the country’s highest court.

According to a recent news report by online news daily CRHoy, the teacher in question was fired from the Technical-Professional High School of Pococi, in the Caribbean province of Limon, after a string of absences. The teacher justified the missed work days because of substance abuse problems. Court records show that the teacher drank liquor and smoked crack in excess, and had become addicted to both. The Court also refrained from revealing details of the defendant such as name, gender or age.

The teacher sought the review by the Constitutional Chamber after being summarily fired by the Director of Human Resources of Costa Rica’s Ministry of Public Education (initials MEP in Spanish) without being given a chance to seek treatment and rehabilitation.

The unanimous vote of the Constitutional Chamber on this matter ordered the MEP’s Human Resources to accept the educator back as a member of the academic staff at the vocational high school in Pococi. At the heart of the Court’s decision is the World Health Organization’s classification of alcoholism as a mental health issue that has physiological, psychological and social connotations. Within the successful rehabilitation of an alcoholic, a stable job allows the addict to feel productive and to reduce stigmatization and marginalization by other members of society. Thus, the Court voted to reinstate the teacher.

Minister Leonardo Garnier has explained that he is looking into the situation, which he was not privy to since he recently returned from an official trip to Uruguay. He mentioned that the safety of students is always the MEP’s first concern, and thus the summary firing of a drug addicted teacher is justified insofar as providing a safe environment for students.