There are few limits that federal law places on employers drug testing their employees. Drug testing is not required under the Drug-Free Workplace Act of 1988. The federal government doesn’t require or prohibit drug testing within a workplace. There is only one situation in which the federal government requires employers to drug test their employees, and that is in safety-sensitive industries. Industries such as transportation, contractors with NASA, the Department of Defense or aviation require drug tests. Other than that requirement, employers have free reign on whether or not they choose to drug test their employees just as long as an employer tests all employees and doesn’t select people based on their disabilities or racial characteristics.

In the state of California, there is a state Constitution that includes a right to privacy. This right extends to all government employees and employees in a private industry. This means that drug testing is determined and judged by the courts on a case-to-case basis. The court weighs the employer’s reason for testing an employee against the employee’s expectation of privacy. An employer has reasonable suspicion to drug test an employee if he or she has objective facts that their employee is using drugs.

California also has a “compassionate use” law that allows residents to use marijuana for medical purposes only. However, employers have the right to refuse to hire an employee who tests positive for marijuana, even if he or she uses it for medicinal purposes. If employers choose to drug test employees upon hiring him or her or yearly, they must take certain precautions to prevent discrimination and inaccurate samples from occurring during a drug test.

Many employers drug test their employees for various reasons. Employers have the right to expect that their employees will not be under the influence while working. The most common reasons for drug-testing employees are to avoid legal liability and to maintain productivity and save money. If an employee is intoxicated and at work, the employer is liable for anything he or she does, especially if the intoxicated employee harms someone in the workplace. Also, employees lose their employers a significant amount of money while working under the influence because it affects their productivity.

Please feel free to CONTACT US with any questions about this blog or your exact situation.

Photo Credit: Shutterstock/ Africa Studio

The post Has Your Employer Asked You To Take A Drug Test? appeared first on UELG.

Can the driver be held accountable for the train accident?

With another train accident to add to the annual injuries in Los Angeles today, the question has to be asked, “Who is at fault?”

As details come out, the conductor of the derailed Oxnard metro train maintains he followed protocol and tried to slow the train as much as possible. The troubling part about the accident comes in two parts.

First, new information has come out about the driver of the truck.  He drove the truck onto the tracks, facing down the tracks; it was not stalled across the tracks as originally believed.  He then got out and fled the scene. While the driver’s attorney claims he left to get help, he has been charged with a hit and run.

Second, the issue has to be raised that this is the same intersection where two people were killed just last June. This intersection is known to be one of the most deadly in the train system, and yet nothing has been done to alter the way it is navigated. The transportation authority says there have been talks about building a bridge, either for the train or auto and foot traffic, but so far it is just that, TALK, and the injuries pile up.

There are still too many variables to know how this will shake out for liability, but we know that blame can always be deflected when companies try hard enough.  If you have unwittingly become the scapegoat for your boss, you need to protect yourself with the right employment attorney.

Call United Employees Law Group TODAY.  We are here to help.

Photo Credit: Shutterstock/wavebreakmedia

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