Canadian Watchdog Agency Rules Workplace Drug Testing Illegal July 12, 2002
News Summary
The Canadian Human Rights Commission has ruled that random and pre-employment testing of workers for alcohol and other drugs is illegal, the Canadian Press reported July 11."Employers, with very, very few exceptions, should not be testing employees or candidates for employment, for drugs," said Catherine Barratt, commission spokesperson.
Under a new policy released by the commission, alcohol and other drug dependence are considered disabilities, so workers with those problems must be helped, not fired, by their employers.
The new policy, which takes effect immediately, provides exceptions to allow testing for impairment. According to Barratt, if an employer has "strong reasonable cause" to suspect that a worker in a safety-sensitive job is impaired, testing can be conducted.
However, if the test comes back positive, the employer is responsible to "accommodate the needs" of that worker, such as providing medical testing, counseling, and reassignment to a job that does not affect safety.
The policy applies to workers in federally regulated industries, including Canada's banks and insurance firms, airlines, telecommunications companies, railways, some mining and bus firms, and national media outlets.
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