Can I refuse to rehire someone who was previously terminated for violation of company rules?

Generally speaking, you can refuse to rehire someone for any reason as long as the reason is not discriminatory. Standing alone, a no-rehire policy is facially neutral because it applies to all applicants regardless of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, disability, age or any other status protected under state laws. The policy must also be neutral as applied-it cannot be applied in a discriminatory manner, either because supervisors are enforcing it unevenly to the detriment of protected-group employees or because it is being cited as a pretext.

Though facially neutral, selection criteria that have a greater impact on protected-group employees are also prohibited by the anti-discrimination laws.

What if the termination was for violating a drug-free workplace policy? Arguably the application of a no-rehire policy to a former drug addict whose only work-related offense was testing positive because of his addiction violates the Americans with Disabilities Act because it screens out persons with a record of addiction (which is, in itself, a protected disability as long as there is no current illegal use of drugs). Such a claim would have to be based on a disparate impact theory of discrimination. In 2003, the US Supreme Court upheld a company's no-rehire policy as a legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason for refusing to rehire an employee two years after he quit in lieu of termination for violating the company's drug-free workplace policy (Raytheon Co. v. Hernandez, 11 ADD ¶11-053). However, the high court considered the claim only in the context of disparate treatment.