Modern Tools

Can a company fire you for a drug test?

Can a company fire you for a drug test?

To find out what your state allows and requires, select it from the list at State Laws on Drug Testing. Even if your employer has the legal right to test, that doesn’t mean it can fire or discipline you for a positive result.

Can a company fire you for medical marijuana?

These laws generally state that an employer cannot fire an employee based on the employee’s status as a medical marijuana cardholder or participation in a marijuana program.

Is it legal for an employer to test an employee for drugs?

Assuming your employer is not required to test its non-driving employees for drugs, it could still be allowed to do so by state law. Virtually every state allows employers to test applicants for drug use at the time of hire. The rules for current employees, however, are more varied and more restrictive.

Can a company fire you for taking Xanax?

Since an employer in every state is allowed to test for illegal drug use, the employer is within her rights, up to but not including the point when you were terminated after a positive test for benzodiazepines, which is the underlying category for drugs such as Xanax, Valium, Ativan and similar prescription drugs.

Can you fire an employee for a positive drug test?

The drug policy: If your organization doesn’t have a written drug policy, then not only should you not fire an individual for a positive drug test, you shouldn’t even be drug testing at all. That’s assuming you have better things to do than hang out in courthouses defending your company in a court of law.

These laws generally state that an employer cannot fire an employee based on the employee’s status as a medical marijuana cardholder or participation in a marijuana program.

What happens if an employee is caught with drugs?

Adding a section to your drug policy providing examples or prohibited behavior and their consequences can help prevent real or unconscious/unintended bias. For example, if an employee is caught with illegal drugs on their person, the consequence cannot be demotion for one employee and termination for another.

Can a person be fired for taking medication?

However, if over time the disability no longer exists, if the medication is interfering with your ability to perform essential job functions with reasonable accommodations, or if you are taking the medication illegally, then you can be fired.

To find out what your state allows and requires, select it from the list at State Laws on Drug Testing. Even if your employer has the legal right to test, that doesn’t mean it can fire or discipline you for a positive result.

Why is drug testing at work the new Dont Ask, Don’t Tell?

As perceptions shift and legal use of marijuana becomes more common, he said, “it’s really become the new ‘don’t ask, don’t tell,’ ” with many employers preferring not to know about an employee’s use. “If he’s got a positive drug test, and you knew,” Reidy said of an employee later who might later have a safety accident, “it’s in your system.”

Can a company penalize you for a drug test?

If you are taking a legally prescribed drug for a disability, as it sounds like you are, then your employer may not penalize you based on that fact alone. If the drug impaired your ability to perform your job safely, the situation would be different.