NCJ Number
106923
Journal
Nova Law Review Volume: 11 Issue: 2 Dated: (Winter 1987) Pages: 561-604
Date Published
1987
Length
44 pages
Annotation
This article describes the current controversy over private employees urinalysis to test for drugs and assesses the proposal for governmental restriction on such testing.
Abstract
Limited regulation of urinalysis drug testing is better than its prohibition in balancing the pertinent competing interests. Government should regulate the urinalysis testing industry to ensure reliable testing and to enable private employers to make an intelligent choice of a laboratory to test their employees. There are also plausible arguments for requiring employers to have positive immunoassay tests confirmed and for prohibiting employers from basic disciplinary actions solely on immunoassay test results. The case for regulating employers' use of drug test information is weaker than that for regulating laboratories. Advocates of employees' privacy should consider that the present political climate will not support a total ban on employee urinalysis, since public opinion polls show solid support for such testing, and most employees appreciate that coworkers' drug use can undermine workplace safety and employee productivity. 294 footnotes.