Drug and Alcohol Testing

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The Occupational Safety and Health Administration published a memorandum on October 19, 2016 that explains statements made about post-accident drug and alcohol testing in its commentary to the Electronic Recordkeeping Rule, i.e., “Improve Tracking of Workplace Injuries and Illnesses,” which was published in May.  Among other things, the rule prohibits retaliation against employees…

In another win for employers with regard to medical marijuana use by employees, a Massachusetts state court rejected a former employee’s legal claims under the state’s medical marijuana law. Barbuto v. Advantage Sales and Marketing, LLC, et al., No. 15-02677 (Mass. Sup. Ct. May 31, 2016).

The plaintiff, Christina Barbuto, possessed a valid medical marijuana…

According to a new study published by Quest Diagnostics today, positive workplace drug test results have been increasing steadily every year since 2011, and made up 4% of all workplace drug test results in 2015.  The Quest Diagnostics Drug Testing Index — an annual survey of workplace drug test results — examined nearly 11 million…

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Railroad Administration (“FRA”) recently announced a final rule expanding drug and alcohol testing applicable to maintenance-of-way (“MOW”) employees, effective one year from the date of the rule’s publication (which has yet to be announced). MOW employees work directly on and around railway tracks and crossings, maintaining the tracks, bridges,…

Today, OSHA’s final electronic recordkeeping rule, “Improve Tracking of Workplace Injuries and Illnesses,” was published in the Federal Register.  A detailed discussion of the rule can be found here on our OSHA Law Blog.  In the final rule OSHA states that “blanket post-injury drug testing policies deter proper reporting” and concludes that:

“the final…

A federal court in Pennsylvania has allowed an employee to proceed with a wrongful discharge/invasion of privacy claim related to her discharge after a positive drug test result. Wilkinson v. Marvin E. Klinger, Inc., Case No. 4:15-cv-01916, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 58340 (M.D. PA. May 3, 2016).

Plaintiff, a 58-year old school bus driver, was…

The Rhode Island Supreme Court has held that a three-year statute of limitations applies to claims alleging violations of the employer drug testing statute in that state. Goddard v. APG Sec.-RI, LLC, No. 2014-239-Appeal (R.I. Mar. 7, 2016).

Rhode Island’s employer drug testing statute provides employees with a right to be free from drug…

A federal appeals court in Minnesota has held that the Minnesota drug testing statute applies to an applicant tested in Minnesota, even though the applicant was being hired for a job in another state.  Olson v. Push, Inc., No. 14-3160 (8th Cir. Feb. 22, 2016).

Push, Inc., a Wisconsin corporation, hired Olson, a…

Although an employee clearly refused a drug test under an employer’s drug and alcohol policy, an appellate court in Alabama remanded the case to the trial court because the employer’s policy did not clearly define the testing methods to be utilized, which was an important component of determining the employee’s eligibility for unemployment benefits. Austal…

An employer’s reliance on a positive alcohol test was held to be a legitimate and non-discriminatory basis for termination, despite the terminated employee’s argument that the test result was inaccurate.  Clark v. Boyd Tunica, Inc., 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 35223 (N.D.  Miss. March 1, 2016).

Plaintiff, a line cook at Boyd Tunica, Inc., underwent…