Let’s assume for a moment that your dental assistant is really struggling with her chair-side performance. She is having trouble concentrating, she is often short with patients, and she is consistently late for work. You suspect she has a drug problem based on what you have heard, and you want to conduct a random drug test to find out. How should you proceed? The answer is very, very carefully.
Oregon and Washington do not currently have laws restricting or regulating the drug testing of employees, but this does not give you a blank check to do what you want. On the contrary, you want to proceed cautiously to make sure you do not spark an employment-related lawsuit.
Remember, you do not need a drug testing policy to discipline an employee for performance related issues and policy violations. If you still feel the need for drug testing, check your employee manual to see if you have a clear written policy. If you do not, contact your attorney to draft a policy letting all employees know they could be subject to drug testing. The policy will spell out how random drug testing is conducted.
Drug testing needs to be fair, and if you are testing someone for cause, you need to have facts regarding the need for the test, not just based on what you heard someone say.
Finally, you need to give your team at least 30 days advance notice of having a new drug policy. This may run counter to your desire to surprise someone, but your team has a reasonable expectation of privacy, and since drug testing is an exception to their privacy, you need to alert the team of the new policy.
Make sure you take the appropriate steps before implementing a new drug testing policy. This will help ensure you do not make a problem even worse.
