A recent California Court of Appeal ruling involving an employee who agreed to undergo random drug testing places new restrictions on when you can administer drug tests.
Random Drug Test Conducted On Employee’s Day Off
Perrin Edgerton, a Caltrans equipment operator in the Redding area, failed a random drug test that came up positive for marijuana. He was suspended for 20 days and, as a condition of continued employment, agreed to remain drug and alcohol free and submit to random follow-up drug testing.
Three months later, while Edgerton was at home on his day off and sick in bed, he was called in to the Caltrans office for a drug test, his attorney, Lynn Rossman Faris, told CEA. Edgerton tested positive for methamphetamines and was fired.
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Off-Duty Testing Violates Employee Privacy
Edgerton and his union sued, asking the court to set aside the termination on the grounds that the off-duty drug test violated Edgerton’s right to privacy. Caltrans maintained that off-duty testing does not invade an employee’s privacy.
But a California Court of Appeal sided with Edgerton. The court explained that an employee has an expectation of privacy at home that is violated when you subject the person to drug testing during non-work hours.
The privacy intrusion was particularly unreasonable in this case, the court said, because a written Caltrans policy stated that drug tests would occur during on-duty time. The court saw no reason why Caltrans couldn’t conduct the random testing less intrusively, such as during work hours or just before or after an employee’s shift.
Practical Suggestions
In light of this ruling, the safest practice is to restrict employee drug tests to the person’s scheduled work hours or just before or after them. Note, though, that federal drug testing regulations for your industry may require testing at other times. Also, be sure that your substance abuse policy spells out not only the circumstances under which employees may be tested but also when testing can occur.