DRUG TEST ONTARIO FULL
Even if the employer meets the threshold for drug testing, in the event that the test comes back positive, the employer has accommodation duties. Unless the accommodation would cause undue hardship upon the employer this duty requires the employer to work together with the employee to permit the employee to work despite having a drug problem, and the employer would have to make attempts to try to facilitate rehabilitation.ĭale & Lessmann LLP is a full service business law firm in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.Ĭhristina J.
In most circumstances, drug testing is probably not worth the risk of a human rights claim. Where drug testing will be a valid requirement of the job, the employer should notify job applicants at the time the offer of employment is made. If the testing has no demonstrable relationship to job safety and performance, then it is a violation of the employee’s human rights. It should not be directed towards simply identifying the presence of drugs or alcohol in the body. Drug testing should be limited to determining actual impairment of an employee’s ability to perform or fulfill the essential duties or requirements of the job. Īs a result, only employees in “safety-sensitive” positions may be tested for drugs.
Pre-employment drug testing in Ontario is generally not permissible The Ontario Human Rights Commission (“OHRC’) has stated that: “Since drug testing cannot be shown to actually measure impairment, pre-employment drug testing should not be conducted.