Developments in Regulating Workplace Drug and Alcohol Testing
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 Aro v. Legal Recovery Law Offices, Inc., Case No. D065422 (unpublished) (Cal.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,…
Connecticut’s drug testing laws apply only to urinalysis drug tests and not to a drug test using hair specimens which led to an employee’s termination, a Connecticut trial court has held. Schofield v. Loureiro Engineering Associates, Inc., 2015 Conn. Super. LEXIS 1262 (Super. Ct., D. Waterbury, Docket No. CV 146024702S, May 22, 2015).
Plaintiff Ronald…
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…
Louisiana employers now can drug test employees’ hair samples, thanks to a recent amendment to the State’s drug testing statute.
Signed by Governor Bobby Jindal on June 5, 2015, House Bill 379 closes an 18 year-old loophole in Louisiana’s drug testing law, which permitted employers to drug test hair specimens (in addition to blood, saliva…
For the second year in a row, the percentage of American workers testing positive for illegal drugs has increased, according to a recent study conducted by Quest Diagnostics. Quest Diagnostics’ Drug Testing Index (“DTI”) – an annual analysis of workplace drug testing trends – analyzed the results of over 7.7 million urine, saliva and hair…
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (“SAMHSA”) published a Request For Information on May 29, 2015 that solicits comments about potential hair testing for drugs in an effort to revise and update standards for laboratory drug testing procedures for federal workers. Tasked by the Department of Health and Human Services, SAMHSA is looking…
In a strongly worded opinion, a National Labor Relations Board Administrative Law Judge sustained an employee’s discharge for refusing to drug test against an allegation of unlawful discrimination because the employee had engaged in union activity. Ozburn-Hessey Logistics, LLC, JD (ATL) 08-15 (NLRB ALJ April 28, 2015). The Judge repeatedly refused to credit the…
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…
Litigation that began over a 2011 Executive Order (11-58) by Florida Governor Rick Scott requiring drug tests for all prospective employees and random tests for employees at all state agencies subject to gubernatorial control — about 85,000 (77 percent of all state workers) — appears to be ending. A notice of settlement has been filed…
A retail employee in line for a store general manager’s position lost not only the promotion, but his job, as well, when he failed or refused to take a test because he could not provide a urine specimen as a result of “shy bladder syndrome.” The syndrome, or paruresis, makes it difficult for the individual…
