Drug misuse is increasingly becoming an important issue for managers at all levels and some are concerned about the conditions they should test their employees. The following conditions should exist before employers begin to conduct drug testing. An employee is involved in any accident during the course and scope of his or her employment and alcohol or drugs are suspected to have contributed to the cause of the accident. The employee which result in reasonable suspicion that drugs are being used by the employee; as part of program of random drug testing of designated employees who occupy safety-sensitive or security-sensitive positions. These positions includes, employees in nuclear plants, air-traffic control, train engineers, truck drivers, airplane pilots and other positions that are so sensitive in nature that if an accidents occur it could have horrifying consequences. .
When administering drug testing to employees, employers are violating a basic right to privacy it does not make a difference about the circumstances. This is way Employers must be careful to ensure that all members of the class eligible for testing are tested or that tested employees are chosen through a truly random method with no supervisory input to avoid stereotyping any employees. Once an employer has determined the circumstances under which it will test employees for drugs and alcohol, the actual testing process is the next legal hurdle, which must be properly addressed. The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution requires that the testing process be reasonable and not overly intrusive. Employers are violating employee rights on how the test is conducted. (Felman/Petrini).
While random drug testing may be necessary to ensure alertness and sobriety in certain occupations, such as train engineers, airline pilots, truck drivers, nuclear power plant inspectors and others it violates privacy. Employers must take steps to guard employee's privacy, the integrity of the testing system and the confidentiality of the test results.
