The United States Department of Transportation (“DOT”)’s Office of Drug and Alcohol Policy and Compliance announced on December 5, 2013 the annual minimum drug and alcohol random testing rates for 2014 for employers regulated by each DOT operating agency:
Employers subject to more than one DOT Agency drug and alcohol testing rule may continue to
A mental health worker at a drug addiction treatment center was not “regarded as disabled” by his employer when he was discharged for failing to disclose three felony cocaine possession convictions on his employment application, a federal court in North Carolina has held. Rocha v. Coastal Carolina Neuropsychiatric Crisis Servs., P.A., No. 7:12-CV-2-D (E.D.N.C.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced on October 24, 2013 that it intends to recommend that products containing hydrocodone should be reclassified from Schedule III to Schedule II of the federal Controlled Substances Act, to increase controls on the use and misuse of opioid products. Hydrocodone is a narcotic pain reliever that is found
An Iowa appellate court reversed an award of damages to an employee under the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) after the employee was discharged for refusing to submit to a post-accident drug test. Phillip M. Brown v. Mystique Casino, No. 3-723, 13-0012 (Iowa App. Oct. 2, 2013).
The employee had taken a number
A Pennsylvania court has upheld a commercial motor vehicle driver’s eligibility to receive unemployment benefits where the Medical Review Officer (“MRO”) did not advise the driver of his right to request a split-specimen test, as required under the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (“FMCSA”) regulations. Carlisle Carrier Corporation v. Unemployment Compensation Board of Review
The Government’s Results from the 2012 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: Summary of National Findings and Detailed Tables, finds that 8.9 percent of full-time employees and 12.5 percent of part-time employees, 18 years of age and older, are current illicit drug users, while 18.1 percent of unemployed adults in that age group
Last year New York became the first state to enact a law mandating that doctors and pharmacists track patients’ prescription medication history. The tracking system, known as I-STOP – Internet System for Tracking Over-Prescribing – went into full effect on August 27, 2013, and now requires doctors to consult a database of a patient’s prescription
The U.S. Department of Justice announced August 29, 2013 that it will not challenge state laws recently enacted in Colorado and Washington State legalizing marijuana, as long as those laws do not conflict with certain federal enforcement priorities. A memorandum to all United States Attorneys across the country from Deputy Attorney General James M. Cole
An employee who twice failed to complete a substance abuse treatment program was not protected by either the Americans with Disabilities Act or the Family and Medical Leave Act, according to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. Shirley v. Precision Castparts et al (5th Cir. August 12, 2013). The employer terminated the employee for
The Minnesota Supreme Court has ruled that a claim for wrongful discharge under Minnesota’s Drug and Alcohol Testing in the Workplace Act (“DATWA”) is subject to a six year statute of limitations. Because DATWA, codified at Minn. Stat. Section 181.951 et seq., does not contain an explicit limitations provision, the applicable limitations period has long