• The HR Specialist - Print Newsletter
  • HR Specialist: Employment Law
  • The HR Weekly

Testing

Justify drug testing program with business-Related rationale

04/18/2008
Many government employers ask applicants to submit to drug testing before beginning work. A recent 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling may make employers rethink that strategy and prepare to clearly articulate a business-related reason for drug tests. A blanket testing policy may spell trouble …

Drug testing after a workplace accident

04/01/2008
Q. Last week, one of our employees drove a piece of equipment into a shelving unit. The employee caused substantial damage to the equipment and the products on the shelves. He could have seriously injured a co-worker. The employee’s supervisor reported that the employee’s eyes were glassy and bloodshot. Can we require the employee to submit to a drug test? — S.S., White Bear Lake …

The EEOC’s new initiatives for 2008: All talk … or a real threat?

04/01/2008
In recent months, the EEOC has made a lot of noise about new initiatives to combat workplace discrimination. Three of the most prominent include (1) the E-RACE Initiative, (2) employment testing and (3) protections for caregivers … 

Who pays for pre-Employment medical exams?

04/01/2008
Q. We require new employees to undergo pre-employment medical exams. May we require a new employee to cover the cost of the exam? We have 35 employees …

Results of this test: Auto industry to pay $1.6 mil

03/01/2008

The courts look unfavorably on literacy tests for positions that don’t directly require writing skills, as seen by a recent U.S. District Court decision for the Southern District of Ohio. The court awarded $1.6 million to 700 black workers who were screened out of apprenticeship programs at Ford Motor Company, Visteon Corp. and Automotive Components Holdings …

No need to accommodate Rx marijuana use

03/01/2008
The California Supreme Court has ruled that an employer doesn’t have to accommodate an employee’s marijuana use even though he had a valid prescription. Employers can and should continue to use post-offer, pre-employment drug tests if having a work force free of impairment is an important safety consideration …

Hiring tests must reflect true work conditions

03/01/2008
Women accounted for half of new hires at an Iowa meatpacker until the company instituted a new pre-hire lifting test. Then the percentage of women fell to 15%.

Are there California laws analogous to the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act?

03/01/2008
Q. I know that as an employer, I have to abide by GINA and not discriminate based on genetic information. But are there any state statutes addressing this matter?

Know the rules for Georgia’s drug-Free workplace program

03/01/2008
Georgia employers participating in the state’s drug-free workplace (DFW) program must be careful to strictly follow the program’s guidelines or risk incurring workers’ compensation benefit liability they never intended …

The old ‘Pot in the meatballs’ trick fails again

02/01/2008

A New York City Police Department counterterrorism detective said he failed a drug test in 2005 because his wife spiked his meatballs with marijuana …