Although the courts may permit random testing in dangerous workplaces, doing so is only permitted when such testing is a proportionate response that considers legitimate safety concerns and privacy issues. The courts have not yet ruled that employers can randomly test for marijuana use or other drug and alcohol use. In Irving Pulp & Paper Ltd., the court determined that the dangerousness of the workplace is only the beginning of the inquiry and testing for marijuana use is dependent on safety risks and evidence of a general problem of substance abuse within a workplace. Employers should understand two important factors: Random drug testing is not automatically justified in dangerous workplaces and random drug testing must be a proportional response to evidence of a substance abuse problem within a workplace generally and not evidence unique only to the workers who will be directly affected.
