Drug Testing of Job Applicants

No employer wants to conduct a drug or alcohol test of an employee. And while such instances are rare, there are times when a business has no choice but to do so. This article will outline some important requirements pertaining to drug tests of job applicants. Next month’s article will discuss drug testing of current employees.

In a landmark case, the California Supreme Court refused to allow the City of Glendale to drug test current employees applying for promotions; however, the court did allow testing of job applicants. The court held that because the testing program was administered in a reasonable fashion as part of a lawful pre-employment medical examination required of every job applicant, it was permissible as to job applicants. The court held that the employer had a significantly greater interest in testing job applicants than current employees seeking a promotion (Loder v. City of Glendate (1997) 14 Cal.4th 846). This ruling holds true even where a job applicant delays submitting to the drug or alcohol test until after beginning work (Pilkington Barnes Hind. v. Sup. Ct. (1998) 66 Cal.App.4th 28, 32).

Be advised that employers may run into problems if only certain job applicants are tested and not others. Selective testing may bring complaints of discrimination. As evidenced by the ruling from Loder case cited above, the safest thing is to either test all applicants or none.

In conclusion, the current cases show that the drug testing of a job applicant generally will be upheld. Yet as will be discussed in more detail next month, the testing of current employees is held to a much higher standard.