Some Notes on Drug and Alcohol Testing in the Workplace

Toronto Employment Lawyer Brian Bell - Regarding the alcohol testing case currently headed for the Supreme Court, this type of thing has been an issue for years. I recall cases within the financial industry where institutions wanted to test employees for substance abuse, and ultimately the action was thrown out - primarily because of the answer to one question: is the testing necessary for the job (i.e. safety concerns)?

If the answer to that question is yes, then the next issue is whether the company’s testing program is too invasive. Ultimately, a blanket yes to testing has the potential for a very slippery slope.

In the current testing case, the company’s position is that testing is necessary for safety reasons, and given this article's content, I would agree.

I would also agree with the unions who say such a policy is not required where it infringes excessively on the rights of the workers. An additional valid point is whether there has to be an “incident” before an employer can introduce such a policy to protect other workers as well as themselves.

It remains unclear where the line should be drawn, and the Supreme Court will have to determine whether a line needs to be drawn at all. I'm looking forward to the outcome of the case.