Dallas Employment Lawyer Paige Melendez
April 20th or “Four Twenty” just passed and whether you chose to celebrate by engaging in marijuana use (within the confines of state and federal guidelines) or you used the day to engage in civic discourse regarding the legalization of marijuana, the true question is: what happens on Four Twenty-One. The reason why the day after “Four Twenty” is so important is because of the general understanding that employees have a higher potential to engage in marijuana use the day before. This brings up the question of drug-testing in the workplace. The legality of drug testing employees remains a controversial issue, with some arguing that it is an invasion of privacy, while others maintain that it is necessary to ensure a safe and productive workplace. Generally, drug testing is legal, but like always there are certain guidelines and caveats that employees should be aware of when an employer announces or requires a drug test.
A good offense is a must when it comes to drug testing, that’s why it is an important first step to read up on the employer’s drug testing policy whether in the employee handbook, an online posting, or any new hire paperwork. The second step is understanding that an employer’s drug policy is not limitless because drug testing must still be conducted in a non-discriminatory manner. This means that employers cannot single out certain employees for drug testing based on their race, sex, age, disability, or other protected characteristics. An example of this would be if an employer announced a random drug test, but the “random” people chosen were all part of the same racial group. Thus, while an employer can legally drug-test its employees, there are limits to how the tests are conducted.
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