I recently had a question concerning OSHA’s Recordkeeping standard with respect to employee injury reporting and discrimination by drug testing. Federal OSHA states the following:

“The rule does not prohibit drug testing of employees. It only prohibits employers from using drug testing, or the threat of drug testing, as a form of retaliation against employees who report injuries or illnesses. If an employer conducts drug testing to comply with the requirements of a state or federal law or regulation, the employer’s motive would not be retaliatory and this rule would not prohibit such testing.”

Click here to read the OSHA link.

As stated by OSHA, drug testing to comply with state and federal regulations is not considered retaliatory. In addition, many companies have mandatory drug testing programs including post-incident testing. It appears the key issue is whether or not employers who perform drug testing have a consistent and documented drug testing program – not just used as a retaliatory tool discouraging employees to report injuries and illnesses.

Jon