According to federal law, drug testing by employers is required in certain industries that are sensitive to safety like transportation and aviation, etc. The requirements for testing drug usage in California are analyzed in this article.

 The main kinds of drug tests required in California:

• The most common test is the urine drug test
• Saliva drug test
• Hair test
• Blood drug test

Drug Test for forthcoming employees

One of the terms and conditions for the future employees can be drug testing, according to some cases in California court.

The employers can do drug testing on every applicant according to the type of job. However, the employer should not be biased at all while doing this testing. The race and disability of the employees can be the basis of this discrimination.

Drug Testing for employees in California

While legalizing drug testing, the courts in California face two problems. The first issue is the reason the drug test is performed and the second is the privacy of the drug test results.

A solid argument offered by the employees is that drug testing is not needed by an employer as they can check their work history to evaluate their productivity.

 An employer can legally conduct drug testing if he is convinced about the use of drugs by an employee, but he must have various facts to support his suspicion.

Though casual testing can cause many disagreements, the courts of California have permitted haphazard testing, particularly for safety-sensitive jobs.

Drug Testing in the Transportation Industry

The federal and state laws have imposed strict regulations for drug testing on the employees and operators of commercial transport systems. Individual employees and operators will have to face penalties if they fail to follow these laws.

Drug Abuse and Disability Discrimination 

Any protection to the people presently using drugs is not provided by the Act of California Fair Employment and Housing or FEHA and Federal Americans with Disability Act or ADA. However, those who abused drugs previously, but are not using drugs after successful rehabilitation, are protected by these laws.

Proposition 215 of California

This act, also known as the Act for Compassionate Use, allows:

• Acquisition and use of medical marijuana
• No prosecution for physicians
• No criminal prosecution for patients using medical marijuana

Though the above permissions are granted still, according to the argument of the California Supreme Court, the employers are permitted to reject employment for possible employees if their marijuana test is positive because this drug can cause disability. Overall, employers can drug test employees by California law. However, testing can be limited by very specific and limited conditions. For example, employers in the private or public sector can conduct drug testing randomly for security or safety-related jobs. Before asking the existing or prospective employees for a drug test the employer should meet the requirements of drug testing laws.

Photo Credit: Shutterstock/Piotr Adamowicz

The post Drug Testing Laws of California appeared first on UELG.

Nonetheless, employer drug testing in industries regarded as safety-sensitive such as aviation, transportation, and several others are provided for by the Federal law. This article analyses California drug testing laws with a keen focus on what they entail.

Major Drug Tests Done in California

The types of drug tests done are:

• Urine drug test which is the most common
• Saliva drug test which can be administered anywhere
• Hair drug test which uses hair from any part of the body
• Blood drug test with is administered with a urine test

Drug Testing for Prospective Employees

Based on California court cases, drug testing may be one of the terms and conditions of employment for a prospective employee. Employers are allowed to subject each and every applicant for drug testing with respect to certain job positions. In doing so, employers must not be discriminatory in any way. Discrimination involves situations to do with disability and race.

Drug Testing for California Employees

There are two issues that come into play when California courts try to establish the legality of a drug test. One issue assessed is the reason why it was necessary for an employer to conduct a drug test.

The second issue is the right of privacy of an employee. Employees tend to offer a strong argument: that an employer can use their existing work history to gauge their productivity hence no need for a drug test.

If an employer is strongly convinced that an employee is on drugs, a drug test can be conducted without worrying about litigation. However, the employer’s suspicion must be supported by verifiable facts.

All the same, random testing sparks a lot of controversies. However, California courts express that random testing is allowed especially for jobs that are safety-sensitive.

Drug Testing with Respect to the Transportation Industry

There exist strict drug testing regulations imposed by federal and state laws on commercial transportation operators and employers. If individual operators and employers fail to adhere to these laws, they expose themselves to consequences in form of penalties.

Disability Discrimination and Drug Abuse

The ADA (Federal Americans with Disabilities Act), as well as FEHA (California Fair Employment and Housing act), do not accord any form of protection to people presently using drugs. Instead, these two laws protect those who previously abused drugs but have successfully undergone rehabilitation and no longer abuse drugs.

The California Proposition 215

Commonly referred as the Compassionate Use Act, it stresses out the following:

• Individuals can acquire and use medical marijuana
• Physicians should not be subjected to prosecution
• Patients using medical marijuana are protected from criminal prosecution

As much as the above is allowed, the supreme court in California argues that employers can deny employment opportunities to prospective employees if they positively test for marijuana as much as the drug has been legally authorized for a disability.

In winding up, California law allows employers to conduct drug tests on employees. But this is only justifiable in very few and well-defined scenarios. For instance, for safety and security-related jobs, employers irrespective of whether they are in the public or private sector are allowed to conduct random drug testing. As an employer, ensure you conform to the stipulated drug testing laws before asking your prospective or existing employees to undergo a drug test.

The post California Drug Testing Laws appeared first on UELG.

There are several organizations who suspect that their employees and workers are working under the influence or there is intoxication in the workplace. Now the question remains, how to handle this situation when you are suspecting your employees to be working under the influence at work?

What to Do

Under such circumstances when you suspect intoxication in the workplace, you must send the concerned employee a notice to meet the supervisor to find out whether the suspicion is true. Before taking this step, you should document the facts like slurred speech, the odor of alcohol, balance problems, bloodshot eyes etc. to show why you suspect intoxication in the workplace.

You can also involve a trained observer such as a Supervisor or a law enforcement officer to observe the employee and determine the truth. In the case that the employee is under the influence of the controlled substance, then the trained observer has to establish the “reasonable suspicion” after a careful visual examination.

Lawful Searches

A lawful search can also be an option, with the employee’s consent. You can also ask the employee directly whether he/she works under the influence at work. If the employee replies “yes”, then you need to ask them what they have ingested.

The statement of the suspected employee is to be documented. In case the employee disagrees to this request, then you have the right to ask the employee to undergo an alcohol or drug test which would help to disapprove your suspicion.

Drug Testing

In case the employee declines to take this alcohol or drug testing, then you have to document the incident and place the employee on administrative leave. Also, the employer should be arranging a transportation to get the employee back home. Under such circumstances, the employer or the management should not allow the employee to drive back home.

A breath test is the least intrusive test for alcohol. In case the suspicion is for the controlled substances, then the least intrusive test is urinalysis.

The further step after it has been proved that the employee has worked under intoxication in the workplace is that the concerned employee can be given reasonable corrective directions that will effectively prevent similar or same conduct in the near future during the tenure of the employee’s work in the organization.

A written warning is to be given to the employee that he or she would be required to submit an alcohol or drug testing in the event of similar conduct in future. Also, the concerned employee has to be observed at work for the next few days/months so that you may ensure that similar conduct is not repeated again.

Photo Credit: Shutterstock/Rawpixel.com

The post How to Handle Intoxication in Workplace appeared first on UELG.