Drug Testing Employees

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This is Robert Scirocco bringing you today's Law Bit.

Can an employee refuse to take a drug test while working for a company that requests that he do so? In a recent case, an employee was terminated from his job on the basis that his urine sample was positive for morphine. He contended that he was on various medications and that he had eaten a poppy seed muffin that would have resulted in a false positive test reading. He sued the company on the grounds of discrimination and invasion of privacy. The New Jersey courts held that an employee's expectation of privacy must be weighed against the interests of the company in having a drug-free environment and that the company could rely upon independent lab results. In this case, the employer had every right to apply a uniform policy of drug testing and the employee could not assert a violation of a right to privacy.

This is Robert Scirocco, Attorney at Law, Budd Lake, New Jersey, bringing you today's Law Bit.

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