Question:
I was wondering how it is possible for companies (mostly in the US) to
forcefully test employees for drug use and then fire them if they test
positive. I am pretty sure that here in South Africa such an act would be
thrown out of court very smartly. It seems counterintuitive to say that
recreational drug use (i.e. when not at work) affects your performance when at
work. Are people with hangovers given the ol' heave-ho? If someone is
actually working below standard, they should be fired on a performance basis,
whether or not it is because of drug use. How does the law allow for drug
testing?
Answer:
here in canada the government and courts have decided that pre-employment
drug testing is a violation of basic human rights (they view past or
present drug dependencies as a disability, thus pre-employment drug
testing is discrimination on the basis of that disability which is a
violation of human rights). the only way they can drug test you is if the
safety of others depends on you not being high at work, like if you
operate heavy machinery (i imagine) or something like that. 2 companies
(imperial oil and td bank, i think) have recently had their drug testing
policies challenged in court and they lost, with the court ordering
imperial oil to change their policy.
having said that, two friends of mine have recently had to submit to
pre-employment drug testing for new jobs here in canada. my information
about drug testing comes from some research i did to determine if i was
going to get tested, but it seems that the official legal status of drug
testing isn't yet affecting the actual practice of workplace drug testing,
except where an employee challenges the practice in court.
as far as the US goes, i don't really know that much beyond the fact that
they love their drug tests. canadian companies (trucking companies in
particular) that do business in the states are often caught in difficult
territory between the canadian and the us drug testing situation--where
the us requires them to drug test their employees if their going to be
working in the states but canada says they cant. not sure what happens
in those cases.
of course, here in canada i suppose one could try to use the ross
rebagliati (second hand smoke) excuse...i'm not sure how valid it is
though or if anyone besides the international olympic committee will
believe it...
