Alliance Alert: New York’s recovery-friendly workplace tax credit, designed to incentivize businesses to hire people coming out of addiction treatment, is largely going unused. Despite being the first of its kind in the nation, only five businesses have claimed a total of just $17,000 since the program launched in 2019 — out of a possible $2 million in annual credits.
This isn’t just a missed opportunity. It’s a failure to support one of the most critical factors in recovery: stable, meaningful employment.
With nearly 2 million New Yorkers living with a substance use challenge, and a continued overdose crisis touching every community, helping people rebuild their lives must be a top priority. Work provides not just income, but dignity, purpose, and connection — all of which are essential to recovery.
So what’s the problem?
- Lack of awareness among employers
- Stigma that keeps people from disclosing recovery status
- Limited eligibility (nonprofits — which employ many in recovery — are excluded)
- No clear roadmap for what it means to be “recovery-friendly”
The NYS legislature advanced these efforts this year by passing legislation to create a voluntary Recovery-Friendly Workplace certification program, providing training, clear guidance, and support for employers ready to be part of the solution. That means:
- Carrying and using naloxone
- Reducing workplace stigma
- Partnering with community recovery centers
- Ensuring health coverage includes substance use treatment
This tax credit has potential — but only if it’s paired with real education, accountability, and investment in recovery-positive workplace culture.
We need to ensure incentives like this lead to genuine commitment from our entire state. Everyone deserves the chance to work, heal, and thrive in environments that support — not punish — their path to recovery.
State Tax Credit for Hiring People in Recovery from Addiction Remains Largely Unused
By Amanda D’Ambrosio | Crain’s Health Pulse | July 25, 2025
A state tax incentive to encourage businesses to hire people in recovery from drug and alcohol use remains largely unused, state data shows.
The recovery-friendly workplace tax credit, which launched in 2019, offers up to $2 million in rebates each year to businesses that hire people coming out of addiction treatment. But years after the program started, only five businesses have claimed tax credits totaling approximately $17,000, according to data shared with Crain’s by the Office of Addiction Services and Supports, which administers the program.
The little-used tax credit, the first of its kind in the U.S., was designed to shed addiction stigma in the workplace while helping individuals find stable and supportive jobs after treatment. But low awareness among businesses and vague guidelines for employers about how to support workers coming out of addiction treatment has led only a small number of companies to take advantage.
“You really have to engage people to make this happen,” said Jonathan Rosen, a workplace health and safety consultant and member of the NYS PARSE Coalition, which supports addiction prevention and recovery at work. “It’s a major reform from ‘Just Say No.’”
Evan Frost, a spokesman for the Office of Addiction Services and Supports, said that the agency spent $500,000 to raise awareness about the tax credit program. But uptake remains low in part because of stigma; many individuals in recovery don’t want to disclose their condition to an employer, and employers don’t want to ask workers to identify themselves, he said.
State officials included the tax credit legislation in the 2020 fiscal year budget, offering companies up to $2,000 per eligible employee coming out of substance use disorder treatment. The credit is only available to businesses that pay corporate taxes, and thus the vast network of nonprofits that employ individuals in recovery are not eligible, Frost said.
The program targets employment as a key strategy to help people get back on their feet after substance use disorder, using businesses to help people pay their bills, connect to additional treatment if needed and develop a social support system. Companies deemed ‘recovery-friendly’ have an established connection with an addiction treatment provider and train all employees on how to reduce stigma in the workplace, according to the state’s criteria.
Nearly 2 million people in New York identify as having a substance use disorder, state Health Department data shows. As the overdose crisis continues, creating a network of safe and supportive employers is another piece of the puzzle to providing services to people in recovery, said Chris Assini, policy director at the nonprofit Friends of Recovery New York.
“It’s a massive untapped resource,” said Rob Kent, a consultant who served as general counsel for the Office of Addiction Services and Supports from 2007 to 2020, when the program started.
Advocates for bolstering workplace resources for people in recovery are pushing legislation to give businesses a clearer picture of how to support employees with substance use disorders. Last session, both legislative houses passed a bill to create a voluntary program that certifies businesses as “recovery-friendly,” including training and education to help businesses reduce stigma, carry and use naloxone in the workplace, work with a community recovery center and offer health insurance that covers substance use treatment. The bill is awaiting a signature from Gov. Kathy Hochul.