NCJ Number
111696
Journal
Delaware Journal of Corporate Law Volume: 12 Issue: 3 Dated: (1987) Pages: 951-989
Date Published
1987
Length
39 pages
Annotation
The outcome of legal issues implicated in drug and alcohol testing of private-sector employees is for the most part speculative due to the absence of any clearly defined legal precedent.
Abstract
Workers in the private sector are not afforded the same constitutional protections as those in the public sector. Unless the private-sector employee can show a nexus between the State and the challenged action, the employer will not be subject to the 4th and 14th amendments in implementing and conducting drug testing. Employers can obtain numerous benefits from proper testing programs including improvement in work quality, productivity, employee morale, absenteeism, and workplace safety. However, employers must be cautious to avoid potential legal pitfalls. To withstand legal challenge under common law privacy theories, policies must, at a minimum, be carefully drawn, accompanied by reasonable safeguards, necessitated by legitimate business considerations, and applied in a nondiscriminatory fashion. In general, courts have applied a reasonableness standard in validating drug testing of Government employees. Thus, to the extent that private employers' programs can withstand scrutiny under this standard, the better will they be able to defend their programs under the less stringent common law standard. Corporations that implement drug screening programs should not view them as a substitute for effective drug education and rehabilitation: such testing should be conducted as part of a comprehensive drug prevention program. 239 footnotes.