‘Tis the season for drug testing

Employers have questions all year about employee drug and alcohol testing. In recent years, however, those inquiries have seemed to increase during the holiday season. As employees emerge from two months of holiday celebrations, employers may have some concerns about employees being under the influence at work. Now is a good time to review drug and alcohol testing rules in Massachusetts.

When an employer can drug test

Massachusetts employers can require employees to submit to drug and alcohol testing in three specific circumstances.

First, an employer may ask an individual to take a preemployment drug test after a job offer has been made, so long as other employees in that same position are asked to do the same.

Second, an employer may perform random drug tests for those holding safety-sensitive positions only. Such testing must be truly random, and all employees holding safety-sensitive positions must be included in the pool from which people will be randomly selected for testing each time, even if they were tested in the last round of testing.

Finally, employers can send an employee for a drug test if they have a reasonable suspicion that she is under the influence at work. Reasonable suspicion must be based on objective evidence from observations made by at least one supervisor or another appropriate employee, but ideally two. Further, the observations should be documented before the individual is sent for a test.

Opiates and marijuana