Mass drug test at work

[lukasbmw]

Don't want to go into details but the basics are this:

This Friday the owner had test van pull up. Everyone got piss tested. Everyone. Those who were not there (myself included) must go to a lab and get tested.

I have no worries as I will pass but I wonder if this is legal. A few friends refused to take the test and were fired on the spot.

I have no problems with what happened (when I own my own dealership I'll do the same thing) but I just wonder what the law says about stuff like this.

[randomtask37]

i think as long as you dont come to work under the influence and/or it doesnt affect your work in any way, then they shouldnt care what happens in your private life.

[lukasbmw]

I disagree. The last thing you want is workers who have habbits. Don't kid yourself, using effects your life. The last thing I want is workers coming in down, high, or needing a fix. Remember, these guys are fixing, selling, and driving expensive cars and dealing with high end clients. Perfection is a must.

[UNHCLL]

I think its perfectly legal.
Did you sign any waivers/paperwork when you were hired stating you were clean and not using any substances? If they did, they are held responsible for that statement

I subcontract for the State of NH and can be drug tested at random whenever they so desire. (Hasnt happend in 4 years though)

[Jand3rson]

Random drug tests are legal, at least AFAIK in this state.

[randomtask37]

thats why i said "as long as it doesnt affect your work in any way"

i think it depends on the drugs you are talking about. IMO weed and alcohol are 2 things that can easily be "contained" in your home life. like, if u want to party one weekend and get drunk and high, thats fine. as long as it doenst affect you on monday. and if thats all you did (for that whole month) and u got a drugtest 25 days later, you would still test positive for THC. i think thats crap.

although on the other hand, i do know some people that smoke ALOT of weed and it does seem to bleed into there work because all they want to do is get high, all the time.
when you start talking about other, more serious drugs, then i believe thats when the problems start.

then again, no matter how u look at it, weed is illegal in the US... so, in that sence... its your call.



overall i think its just one crazy aqward situation

[LikeCDoos]

i had to take one before i got hired for seasonal help at circuit city, i'm pretty sure they are legal in CA

[TheyCallMeDale]

Ill give my stoners point of view

coming to work looking for smack is entirely different then if some guy smoked up the night before

[UNHCLL]

FYI: THIS IS NOT A
SMOKIN WEED IS COOOL YOH
vs.
SMOKIN WEED AND DOIN SMAK IS BAD FOOL

thread.

Eric asked about legality of drug testing. Stay ontopic or i'll have to go through and delete all the "for and against drugs" posts. :roll:

[ColdAccord]

i would imagine it's legal, however I don't know because every situation I've ever heard of, people are drug tested, or warned they could be drug tested, before they take the job.

but I agree that weed isn't bad. I smoke relatively often, but am still motivated, have a job, dont go to work high, etc etc. and it doesn't affect my schoolwork either

[rwh11385]

My .02:

Against drug testing: invasion of privacy.

For: Drug use can affect work quality/ability/performance, and employers should therefore be allowed to.

[decay]

that is the one thing i'm not looking forward to about AZ.

the stupidity of these tests (see, i'm on topic) is that they can really only reliably test for drugs that are IMO less likely to affect workplace performance.

opiates and amphetamines (the two things i'd really not want employees doing if i ran a biz) are out of your system in 2/3 days- if they do them friday night & drink a lot of water over the weekend and they probably won't get caught (ignoring that these are not drugs that usually inspire "friday night release" usage patterns).

pot stays in your blood/urine stream for up to a month and is easy to test for, so it basically gets to be the scapegoat.

and to further confuse the issue, the federal government says pot is illegal. several states, including CA and AK (hawaii can come too *grin*), have signed laws to the contrary. so whether or not it's actually against the law, or will get you arrested, depends on where you live.

i may have to deal with this issue myself soon... thankfully, there are products intended to help those who feel that drug testing is an invasion of privacy out a little bit ;)

[nando]

it's legal. whether it's right or not is another matter entirely.. of course I wouldn't want to employ a bunch of crack heads or anything. pot smoking has been totally demonized by our government and culture for so long it's become dogma...

[Charlie]

It's a private business, random drug testing is completely legal.

-Charlie

[RedBaron86325]

Random drug testing is legal in all 50 states. Guidelines include that you be on the employer's clock during the drug test and the employer must pay for the drug test. Since it is a State Law in all 50 states, information about random drug screening does not have to be included on your employment application.