Drug testing in the workplace has been undertaken by employers who are concerned that drug use by employees poses a danger to coworkers and the public, reduces productivity, costs the company money, and contributes to health problems which adds further to company costs. Drug testing in the workplace conflicts with our view of personal privacy and raises questions about how far employers can go in analyzing personal habits of employees. Workers are concerned that such testing might lead to employees being disciplined or fired, and employers are concerned as well that instituting testing might lead to lawsuits over errors, privacy issues, violation of rights, or unauthorized disclosure of test results. Some feel that the testing itself may not be adequate or accurate, contributing to such problems. The courts have been called in to adjudicate these and related matters and have ruled on how far employers can go in drug testing and in the use of drug testing results.
Commentators note that controlling drugs in the workplace is one of the most difficult problems facing employers today:
The use of alcohol and drugs during working hours is most often a covert activity that is identifiable only by circumstantial evidence. The frequency of substance abuse has, however, required that employers institute policies and procedures to control and contain a problem that can otherwise affect safe operations, company morale, productivity, and profitability (Fuqua and McHaney).
Many employers believe they have little choice given that federal law mandates that some employers maintain drug free workplaces and test employees for drug use, while business realities pressure other employers to do the same. The Drug Free Workplace Act became effective in March 1989 and applies to federal contractors with individual procurement contracts of $25,000 or more and to direct recipients of federal grants of any amount. The act requires that the emplo...