A federal court in Utah upheld the termination of an employee who did not disclose his use of prescription medication in accordance with his employer’s policy. Angel v. Lisbon Valley Mining Co., Case No. 2:14-CV-00733 (D. Utah Nov. 23, 2015).
Angel was employed as a haul truck driver at Lisbon Valley Mining Co., a
In the last three years, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has filed numerous lawsuits against employers who take adverse actions against applicants and employees who use prescription medications. In accordance with that trend, EEOC filed suit on November 3, 2015 against an employer who purportedly refused to hire a recovering drug addict using methadone, alleging
A federal court in Georgia rejected an employee’s claim that his termination after a positive drug test result for barbiturates was discriminatory. Roman v. Leggett and Platt, Inc., Case No. 3:14-CV-20 (M.D. Ga. Nov. 3, 2015).
Roman worked in a safety-sensitive position and was subject to random drug testing. He tested positive for phenobarbital, which
Reasonable suspicion alcohol testing of a safety-sensitive employee who was injured in a bar fight and who took medical leave for “acute alcoholic pancreatitis” was upheld by a federal court in Indiana, even though the testing did not take place until the employee returned to work after his medical leave ended. Foos v. Taghleef Industries
Pre-offer drug tests to determine the use of illegal drugs did not violate the Americans with Disabilities Act’s prohibition on pre-offer medical inquiries, a federal court in Pennsylvania held on September 15, 2015. EEOC v. Grane Healthcare Co. et ano, CV No. 3:10-250 (W.D. Pa. Sept. 15, 2015).
The Court previously held, for purposes
The National Safety Council (“NSC”) has published a report entitled Prescription Pain Medications: A Fatal Cure For Injured Workers, urging employers to educate employees about the dangers of using opioid pain medications – such as addiction and death – while also taking steps to avoid potential liability in workers’ compensation and personal injury litigation.
The
A California appellate court affirmed an award of emotional distress to two employees who felt pressured to submit to a random drug test. Aro v. Legal Recovery Law Offices, Inc., Case No. D065422 (unpublished) (Cal. Ct. App. Apr. 8, 2015).
Plaintiffs Aro and O’Toole were employed as debt collectors by Legal Recovery Law Offices,
In a long-awaited and highly-anticipated decision, the Colorado Supreme Court unanimously upheld an employer’s termination of an employee who tested positive on a drug test due to his off-duty use of medical marijuana. Interpreting Colorado’s “lawful activities statute,” the Court held that the term “lawful” refers only to activities that are lawful under both state
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“DHHS”) proposed new guidelines in the Federal Register on May 15, 2015 that would revise the Mandatory Guidelines for Federal Workplace Drug Testing Programs in two significant ways: (1) to permit the testing of oral fluid specimens for drugs; and (2) to include drug testing for
Georgia became the twenty-fourth state to enact a medical marijuana law. On April 16, 2015, Governor Nathan Deal signed legislation that immediately legalizes the use of a low-potency form of cannabis oil for medicinal uses. The new law, House Bill 1, known as “Haleigh’s Hope Act,” permits patients suffering from cancer, Crohn’s disease, Lou Gehrig’s