Creating a good work environment takes time but is essential in terms of productivity. For quite some time, the main thing was about getting to the desired production goal, regardless of the work conditions. Of course, employee rights were always present, but it’s only in the last decade that the overall happiness and work enthusiasm of the employee became the main concern of some employers. That is why certain cities and even countries introduced a four-day working week. It gave their employees more time to rest, travel, and, most importantly, spend with their family, and even though it is still in a trial period, it already showed remarkable results.
On the other hand, there are always certain actions employers can perform or order that many people don’t know whether they have a right to do so or not. Perhaps the best example of that is the infamous drug test. Namely, many are uninformed about whether random or pre-employment drug tests in California are legal or not, but it can easily be checked if you go to a credible source of information like the Health Street, or you can keep reading as we will mention the top 7 things you need to know about workplace drug testing laws in California.
Source: workingsolutionsnyc.com
Contents
1. It is legal
Many people think that drug testing is not legal and that those actions violate their privacy, but, according to law, it’s all about circumstances. One of the most common is the one on marijuana, and the employer has every right to perform it. Besides that, the pre-employment test is something that many employers ask their future workers to do, and it is considered their right to find the best candidates for certain job positions, so if the company asks you to do it, it is not possible to refuse. Okay, there is always an option to say ‘No’ but be aware that if you do so, potential employers will surely look at that like you have something to hide. It is considered as part of searching for the right person for the job, and you have no legal instruments to fight that.
2. Random testing is forbidden
Although random tests are perhaps the best way to check whether someone at your company uses some kind of drug, as it can discover the most, they are forbidden, and each employee has the right to refuse them without any consequences. It means that they cannot get fired because of that, and even if they are, they can file a complaint and easily win the case. Each employer needs to announce testing a few days before it and give the opportunity to employees to prepare for it. Knowing how drugs are easily discovered even after a few months, announcing the drug test day still provides credible results. There is one exception, and it is about the workers in positions with high responsibility or public jobs, and when it comes to them, there is no need to announce anything.
Source: benzinga.com
3. Checking one person
As with most things regarding the law, there are always some exceptions and sub-legal acts, and the same is about pre-employment testing. Namely, when we speak about pre-employment drug testing, it is crucial to know that no one has the right to perform it over just one or two candidates instead of doing it on all of them. Although it is legal to require it, there are some regulations, and future workers have their rights that need to be respected, and testing just one or several out of hundreds of them is violating employee rights. Because of that, if the company did not perform a check on all candidates, they cannot do it on some of them they find suspicious. So it is basically all or no one.
4. Paying
The company that requires any kind of testing has an obligation to pay them, and asking the workers to do that is not legal. Since the company has the most out of testing, it is up to the employer to deal with the expenses without involving workers and ask them for any monetary compensation.
Source: casinorank.com
5. Rehabilitation
The company you work at needs to provide suitable accommodation for workers willing to go on rehabilitation, no matter if the problem is alcohol or drugs. It is about basic civil and employee rights, and as such, you need to know your actions and options as both the company owner and the employee. Providing unreasonable accommodation to people who need it is considered violating that person’s rights, and it can cause a lot of issues to the employers and the company. Rehabilitation is the treatment, and every person has a right to it, so every company needs to have an understanding of it, and neglecting it can cause many legal problems.
6. Medical marijuana
If you need to use marijuana for medical purposes, there is no need to be afraid of taking one and think that you can lose your job because of that. People who use medical marijuana cannot be excluded from work positions, and they have their rights like any other employee. All you need to do is have the prescription to support your claim and notify your employer in time. On the other hand, if someone uses marijuana and has a prescription, they can still be tested, and the result may come up positive because the test isn’t about the CBD level in the blood. Namely, CBD isn’t the reason if the drug test is positive as these tests don’t even look for it, and they focus on the presence of marijuana or metabolites in the urine or blood. That is why having a prescription is a must, as it provides detailed info about the medical products you use and whether they contain THC because THC can lead to a positive drug test.
Source: cbdincubator.com
7. Defamation
This one is about knowing your rights as an employee, especially when there is wrongdoing by the company. It focuses on legal actions that employees can take to fight false claims in a situation when companies publicly announce the results of the drug test. Of course, if they have a reason to doubt its accuracy. This is easily solved by taking another one, and if it shows that the first one was false and the company still announced it publicly, the employer is responsible for revealing results before the retest.
