One of the largest Labs in America – Quest Diagnostics – has a department called “Employer Solutions”. This department has advised many a company with a line akin to ‘Being Vague is no one’s friend, and will do your business far more harm than good when writing a drug testing policy’. The strong encouragement they offer the companies is that when creating the policy they must be as specific as they possibly can in regard to what drugs will be tested for, and under what circumstances they would legally be allowed to test an employee. The more specific a drug testing policy – the fewer questions and complications can arise. And of course a strong preventative measure comes from training any and all employees in supervisory positions to know what to look for and how to spot any signs of an employees being impaired and under the influence of drugs and alcohol. Because it is true that despite a drug testing policy that an employer does need to have ‘reasonable suspicion’ in order to have an employee tested at random. But simply seeing someone get sleepy at their desk does not constitute ‘reasonable suspicion’ and if it did far more employees would require testing regularly before they were allowed to get their morning coffee.

But the issue here is not whether or not it is legal for an employer to test any potential or current employees for illegal drug use. The issue is coming back to the fact that they are testing for completely legal prescription medications that are being carefully watched and controlled by doctors.