Drug and Alcohol Testing

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A new study published by Quest Diagnostics reported an increase in the workforce drug test positivity rate for the first time in ten years, fueled primarily by marijuana and amphetamines.  The Quest Drug Testing Index (DTI) released on September 11, 2014 also showed a large increase in positive marijuana test results in Colorado and Washington,…

Are employers at risk in their ability to conduct lawful post-accident drug and alcohol tests?

Maybe.

At least that is the answer for the many employers who are subject to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s recordkeeping rule (29 CFR Part 1904).

OSHA, in a “Supplemental Notice of Proposed Rulemaking” published recently in the Federal…

A “reasonable suspicion” drug test triggered by an employer’s discovery of apparent drug paraphernalia did not violate a public employee’s Fourth Amendment rights to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures, a court in Arkansas has held.  Brotherton v. Hill, No. 4:12-cv-534 (E.D Ark. Sept. 4, 2014).

Brotherton worked as a boiler operator at the…

A Tennessee auto glass manufacturer will get a new trial to prove that drug tests it administered to its employees – including tests for prescription medications — were not “medical examinations” or “disability-related inquiries” under the Americans with Disabilities Act.  Bates v. Dura Automotive Systems, Inc., No. 11-6088 (6th Cir. August 26, 2014). 

In…

A federal court in Minnesota has ruled that Minnesota’s Drug and Alcohol Testing in the Workplace Act (DATWA), Minn. Stat. Sections 950-957, does not apply to employees who work or are applying to work outside the state of Minnesota.  Olson v. Push, Inc., No. 14-1163 (ADM/JJK) (D. Minn. Aug. 19, 2014).  In Olson, the…

West Virginia Governor Earl Ray Tomblin signed into law March 28, 2014 an amendment to the West Virginia Code requiring mandatory employer reporting to the West Virginia Office of Miners’ Health, Safety and Training (“OMHST”) whenever an applicant or employee, working in a safety-sensitive mining position, tests positive on a drug or alcohol test or…

A federal court in Florida has held that the City of Key West’s policy of drug testing all applicants for employment was applied to an applicant in an unconstitutional manner.  Karen Cabanas Voss v. City of Key West, Case No. 13-10106-CV-King (S.D. Fla. May 9, 2014).

The City of Key West conducts drug testing of…

Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association have negotiated changes to its current Joint Drug Treatment and Prevention Program to create the most stringent drug program in baseball history.

Our colleague, Gregg Clifton, at the Jackson Lewis Collegiate and Professional Sport Law Blog reports on a Major League Baseball Players Association accord…

The Federal Aviation Administration (“FAA”) announced last week that it is considering expanding its current drug and alcohol testing regulations to require testing of certain foreign repair and maintenance workers performing work for U.S. air carriers.

While the FAA has long required random drug and alcohol testing of workers responsible for maintaining and repairing aircrafts…