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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\u2019t 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\u2019t select people based on their disabilities or racial characteristics.<\/p>\n
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\u2019s reason for testing an employee against the employee\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
California also has a \u201ccompassionate use\u201d 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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n