UCLA Employee Drug Test Discussion

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jplfgrira0329

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University Of California Los Angeles

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FORUM 1 - Every student must make 3 comments in their Learning Community, the first of which is due by October 3. Please see instructions under the "Grade Information" tab under Modules.

This week we are reading about Constitutional issues. The topic of employer drug testing falls under this category. As the reading tells us, public employees, that is, workers employed by a public entity such as the State, County or municipality, are protected from random drug testing by their employers because the government, or employer in this case, may not unreasonably search a citizen under the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The law also provides that public employers who have a "reasonable individualized suspicion" that a worker may be under the influence of drugs or alcohol may test an employee. Public employees in safety-sensitive positions, such as police and fire fighters may also be tested. In the private sector, any employer may randomly test any employee at any time.

I think we can all agree that workers in "safety sensitive" positions such as police officers, firemen, truck drivers and others whose marijuana use may affect the safety of others, may be randomly tested. So, please stay away from that argument. I am more interested in what students think about the privacy of workers who may have medical issues that require them to take other types of drugs. Remember that employers do not only test for illegal drugs, but also prescribed medication. I know that many of you take or know someone who takes, anti-depressants, anti-anxiety medications, opioids for pain or many other drugs which may be prescribed by a physician. Such information may be deemed confidential under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Does an employer have the right to know a worker's medical history? Would you want an employer to know you are taking an anti-depressant, anti-anxiety or other medications if it does not have any effect of your work?

Please discuss whether you believe that an employer has the right to drug test its employees? If not, why not? If so, why? Please consider what an employer may do with health information or how it may be used for nefarious purposes . It may be helpful for students to review some of the materials in Weeks 7 and 10. Week 7 covers the Americans with Disabilities Act and Week 10 covers Privacy Issues in the Workplace. I look forward to your comments in this forum.

https://www.opn.ca6.uscourts.gov/opinions.pdf/05a0...

https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/472/...

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WENCHAO MA Saturday In my view, I don't think that employers could do drug tests for employees. Firstly, drug testing in the workplace will violate people's basic privacy. Generally, drug testing at work can cause a lot of stress for workers in the work environment. If a job requires long hours without breaks or shifts, it can disrupt an employee's daily routine. Among other things, drug testing can exacerbate high-intensity work regimes and workplace inequities. Mental health is a major issue for all of us. Drug testing at work, in particular, can increase the psychological stress on staff. When an employee's entire livelihood, reputation, and future career depend on the results of a drug test, the accuracy of the results can be of great importance. A positive drug test not only fails to provide workers with access to appropriate treatment but increases the likelihood that they will be fired at random, if not at all. Although alcohol and drug use may affect employees' work performance and employers may feel that their value judgments are affected, employees are allowed to have their own lifestyles if they ensure that drug intake does not affect their work and that alcohol and drug use does not occur in the workplace. Drug testing in the workplace does provide an accurate way to determine if an employee has bad lifestyle habits. Drug testing is justified if the employee is informed, and the employer has a responsibility to ensure that the employee is competent for the job. But if drug testing is to be done in the workplace, some basic principles must be set to avoid violating employees' rights. First, before accepting a job offer, employers should explain to employees that the job is subject to confidential drug testing. At the same time, employers should respect the privacy of employers and not disclose test results and consequences to others who are not involved. If a drug test comes back positive, employers should also offer some benefits and rehabilitation help. In conclusion, the health and safety of employees are of paramount importance in any case. Nor should employers cut off employees' job opportunities and social benefits based on drug test results. Drug testing is a sensitive and intimate topic and protecting employees' privacy is a top priority if employers don't have definitive evidence. JANE HAYOUNG KANG (She/Her). Friday Personally, I believe that employers should not have the right to know a worker's medical history and the prescriptions that they are taking. I think that that information is sensitive to the employee and there are reasons why there are laws like HIPPA in the medical field. If the information on the patient is only between the doctor and the patient, the employees should have the right to keep that to her/him/themselves. Employers may be concerned with the quality of work that the employees produce under medication, which could be a reason why they want their employees to disclose that information. However, if these medications such as antidepressants, opioids, and anti-anxiety medications are helping the employee clear their mind and focus on the work, it shouldn't have to interfere with any of the work. I do think that it would be a great idea to set up a hotline or designate a person in the HR team that employees can go to when they do want to disclose this information though. For example, there are different antidepressants, each with different side effects. The employee might be trying out a different medication that isn't helping them, thus affecting their quality of work. If the employee wants to disclose this information, they can call the hotline or report to the designated HR personnel to disclose this information so that they are aware of why their performance hasn't been so good. Also, in the case of new hires, I think that there are many other ways we can make sure that we are selecting the right employees, such as background checks. For example, I worked at a nonprofit as an HR intern last semester and we conducted background checks for the new hires to make sure that they don't have any records. If it were me, I would not disclose this information to the employer, because it is my private information I want to keep for myself and if it doesn't have any effect on my work, I shouldn't have to forcefully give up that information to the employer. I also think that employers shouldn't have the right to drug test its employees, unless for reasonable cause. For example, an employer can't drug test a random employee just because they feel that they are on drugs. The employer needs to have reasonable suspicion and must talk to the employees first without having to randomly drug test an employee. If am employee is performing well but seems a bit sleepy and off on a few occasions, that shouldn't be the reason to drug test them. However, if they are missing lots of days without any reasons, seem to act differently on a lot of the days, underperforming, etc., the employer should first talk to the employee and then conduct the drug test if needed (last resort). Overall, drug tests, prescriptions, and medical history are sensitive topics that is very private to the employees and unless there are reasonable suspicions, I think that it should be illegal for the employers to force these upon the employees.
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Explanation & Answer

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Running head: WORKPLACE PRIVACY

Workplace Privacy
Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliation

1

WORKPLACE PRIVACY

2
My Opinion on Employee Drug Test

The employees' medical history and prescriptions are confidential; hence, the employer
should not go after them. Having disclosed such information unwillingly through drug testing
may result to stress to the employee (Lu & Dillahunt, 2021). The information should be a secret
between the doctor and the patient. Despite the employers having been given the rights to drug
test their employees under exceptional circumstances in some countries such as California, they
need to consider the effect on the employee for disclosing such information. After disclosing the
information, the employee may feel unsafe and hence affect his job performance.
Employers need to be more concerned about the quality of job perf...


Anonymous
This is great! Exactly what I wanted.

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