Workplace Drug Testing Case Study

In America workplace drug and alcohol testing is a pretty normal standard requirement. You unable to receive an offciail job offer until you have agreed to complete a drug test. This article discusses a company in Canada called Irving Pulp & Paper Ltd. v. C.E.P., Local 30. A union employee that worked at the company had been required to complete a random drug test, luckily, that employee tested negative. The union for which employeed the man brought a challenge the random alcohol testing portion of Irving Pulp and Paper Ltd.’s drug and alcohol policy. In a majority decision, the arbitration board found that the policy did not meet the proportionality aspect of the balancing test: the violation of an employee’s privacy was not justified by the random testing.

“Employers justify drug and alcohol testing policies by arguing that they are necessary for promoting health and safety in the workplace. Employees and unions argue that the policies either violate human rights law and/or the privacy of employees, although the infringement on privacy rights is the more prevalent basis for challenging such policies.”This article further states that No employee can be subject to random, unannounced alcohol or drug testing, except as part of an agreed upon rehabilitative program following treatment for drug or alcohol abuse;• An employer may require a drug or alcohol test where the facts give rise to reasonable cause; and• An employer may require a drug and alcohol test as part of an investiga- tion into an accident or incident in the