Employee Drug Testing (Violation of Constitutional Rights
EDGEWOOD COLLEGE – BUSINESS LAW I
Employee Drug Testing
Violation of Constitutional Rights
Judd, Jennah
9/18/2014
Introduction:
The word "privacy" means many different things to different people. One widely accepted meaning, however, is the right to be left alone. The composers of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights embraced this meaning and it is referenced many times throughout both documents. This right is now under attack by Private employers who use the power of the paycheck to tell their employees what they can and cannot do in the privacy of their own homes. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) along with the opponents of Employee Drug Testing believe that what a person does during non-working hours away from the workplace should not be used as a basis for discrimination. Employee drug testing is an invasion of privacy and it violates an employee’s constitutional rights.
Employee drug testing began in 1986 when Ronald Reagan signed an Executive Order prohibiting federal employees from using illegal drugs, on or off-duty. In 2011, 71% of respondent business reported some category of employment drug testing. That number is up from 21% when drug testing was first introduced in 1986.
Companies Which Drug Test Employees
Testing of New
Testing of All
Business Category
Hires
Employees
Financial Services
35.8%
18.8%
Business & Professional
36.0%
18.4%
Services
Other Services
60.3%
34.7%
Wholesale & Retail
63.0%
36.8%
Manufacturing
78.5%
42.2%
http://www.drugwarfacts.org/cms/Drug_Testing_Employee#sthash.ILKWAqVy.dpuf
1
Legal Authority:
Three standards will be used in showing that Employee Drug Testing violates an employee’s constitutional rights.
1. The Restatement of the Law, Second, Torts 652B
Samuel Warren and Louis Brandeis formulated the common law “right of privacy” as a general principle rooted in existing common law. The Restatement, Second, of Torts further outlined this privacy right by setting forth a four-part common law test for unlawful
Employee Drug Testing
Violation of Constitutional Rights
Judd, Jennah
9/18/2014
Introduction:
The word "privacy" means many different things to different people. One widely accepted meaning, however, is the right to be left alone. The composers of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights embraced this meaning and it is referenced many times throughout both documents. This right is now under attack by Private employers who use the power of the paycheck to tell their employees what they can and cannot do in the privacy of their own homes. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) along with the opponents of Employee Drug Testing believe that what a person does during non-working hours away from the workplace should not be used as a basis for discrimination. Employee drug testing is an invasion of privacy and it violates an employee’s constitutional rights.
Employee drug testing began in 1986 when Ronald Reagan signed an Executive Order prohibiting federal employees from using illegal drugs, on or off-duty. In 2011, 71% of respondent business reported some category of employment drug testing. That number is up from 21% when drug testing was first introduced in 1986.
Companies Which Drug Test Employees
Testing of New
Testing of All
Business Category
Hires
Employees
Financial Services
35.8%
18.8%
Business & Professional
36.0%
18.4%
Services
Other Services
60.3%
34.7%
Wholesale & Retail
63.0%
36.8%
Manufacturing
78.5%
42.2%
http://www.drugwarfacts.org/cms/Drug_Testing_Employee#sthash.ILKWAqVy.dpuf
1
Legal Authority:
Three standards will be used in showing that Employee Drug Testing violates an employee’s constitutional rights.
1. The Restatement of the Law, Second, Torts 652B
Samuel Warren and Louis Brandeis formulated the common law “right of privacy” as a general principle rooted in existing common law. The Restatement, Second, of Torts further outlined this privacy right by setting forth a four-part common law test for unlawful