Can You Be Fired for Not Being Able to Provide a Urine Sample
After listening to the speakers at this twelvemonth's Drug & Alcohol Testing Industry Association (DATIA) Conference, there is little incertitude that drug testing is essential for employers of all sizes. Presenter after presenter offered hard prove that drug use is going up.
During the conference, Dr. Barry Sample unveiled Quest Diagnostics' almanac Drug Testing Index. The results evidence that the percentage of American workers testing positive for illicit drug use is upwardly for the second consecutive year. According to Patrice Kelly from the U.Southward. Department of Transportation, the pinnacle 3 drugs they are finding are marijuana, amphetamines (including methamphetamines) and cocaine. She also said PCP – a drug many believed to have peaked and disappeared in the '60s and '70s – is responsible for more positives than all types of Ecstasy drugs combined. Quest had similar results, and also noted their information shows heroin use has doubled over the terminal 3 years.
It's no wonder that drug testing has get an omnipresent part of so many employers' hiring procedure. Merely what happens when an employee or applicant refuses to have the test? The reply varies depending on the situation.
According to Ms. Kelly and several other presenters at the DATIA conference, if you are in a regulated industry such as transportation, oil and gas, or nuclear free energy, there is a lot on the line. A worker who refuses either a drug or alcohol test must be removed immediately from safety sensitive jobs. After that, the employee will be required to see a DOT-qualified Substance Abuse Professional, go through educational and rehabilitation programs and complete a Render-to-Duty Process which includes observed drug tests. Certificates and licenses could be revoked, suspended or restricted if an employee refuses to have the test.
Things are a lot different in non-regulated industries. There is really no federal law that requires employees to submit to drug testing. There are, nonetheless, state laws that could employ. In general, these laws crave employers to clearly state that drug and alcohol testing are role of the screening process and brand certain their visitor policy treats everyone the aforementioned during the hiring process. Company policies should also spell out what circumstances would prompt a test of a electric current employee. If you are testing current employees, you lot demand to be able to prove that the testing is necessary to continue the task site safe or there is reasonable suspicion an employee is under the influence.
Employees may decline to take a workplace drug examination – simply they tin as well exist fired for that refusal. An employer merely needs to demonstrate they had good reason to believe someone was a condom hazard or was unable to perform their job. The employer'due south written policy is key in this situation. The employee has little recourse if the employer is post-obit their written policy and the employee was aware of the policy. The former employee might even be denied unemployment benefits if they are terminated for refusing to follow visitor policy.
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About the Author
Jennifer Gladstone
Jennifer Gladstone is a news ballast and journalist with more than twenty years of experience in front of the photographic camera. She's worked in several markets, large and minor, and has performed nearly every chore needed in a newsroom. Equally EBI's Screening News Editor, she keeps EBI's customers and blog subscribers up to date on the latest screening news and legislative alerts affecting companies of all sizes.
Source: https://www.ebiinc.com/can-an-employee-refuse-to-take-a-drug-test/
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