Our Firm Protects Workers Subjected to Drug Testing in Florida
Rights regarding privacy, unfair testing procedures and inaccurate testing results in Palm Beach and St. Lucie counties
Since 1984, Louis P. Pfeffer, the founding attorney of Pfeffer & Associates, has assisted workers who have suffered damages because of unjust workplace policies. If you have lost your job because you failed a drug test or got a false positive, our employment lawyer can conduct a full investigation as to the legality of the test. We seek reinstatement and damages for wrongful termination if your test was incorrectly conducted or the results were flawed.
Workers in certain positions and industries are required by federal law to be tested for drugs. Employees or contractors with jobs in the transportation, aviation, childcare, law enforcement or other safety-sensitive fields may be required to submit to drug testing as a condition of employment. These regulations are intended to protect the public from risky actions made by impaired workers. Besides certain industries and jobs, the laws do not require or prohibit drug testing in the workplace. Private employers are, however, required to perform drug tests in a manner that is fair to their employees.
Illegal drug testing
Drug testing in the workplace is controversial in Florida and throughout the country. Recently, a federal court overruled state legislation that would have allowed random drug testing of the majority of Florida employees. The drug testing policy was declared an unreasonable search and seizure in violation of the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The judge explained that the workers’ privacy interests outweighed the public interests that the laws were purported to protect. Based on this legal precedent, our employment law attorney fights for your rights if you are consequently facing wrongful termination.
Reasonable-suspicion drug testing
Employers with a reasonable suspicion of an employee’s drug use are permitted to conduct drug testing on the alleged user. Your employer is entitled to conduct reasonable-suspicion drug testing if an employee is suspected of drug use because of:
- Symptoms of drug use — such as staggering or slurred speech
- Observation of drug use by the employee
- Report of employee’s drug use by a credible, reliable source
- Evidence of drug test tampering
- Indications that the employee’s drug use contributed to an accident
- Proof that the employee has used, possessed, sold or solicited drugs while operating company equipment or vehicles
Commonly abused drugs subject to testing
Because of the amount of readily available drugs — both prescribed and illegally obtained — most employers choose to test only for specific types. Aside from alcohol, which may not require a “formal” drug test, an employer may have employees tested for:
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Procedures for conducting a drug test
Even if you tested positive, you may have a cause of action against your employer for violating requirements regarding:
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Contact our Jupiter firm to learn more about drug testing in Florida
If you were terminated because of an improperly performed drug test or inaccurate results, consult with our Palm Beach County lawyer. Call Pfeffer & Associates at 561-745-8011 or contact us online to schedule a consultation. We return phone calls after hours, and our firm handles employment cases on a contingency fee basis.