In June2013, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled against an employer’s random alcohol testing program, concluding that it was unreasonable. In the 6-3 decision, the Court side with the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada, which brought a grievance against Irving Pulp and Paper.
The Court based much of its decision on the earlier finds of an arbitration board and the fact tht there were zero positive test results over a 22 month period at the company’s St. John, New Brunswick mill. ON behalf of the majority, Justice Rosalie Abella wrote as reported by CTV News: “In the end, the expected safety gains to the employer in this case were found by the board to range “from uncertain . . . to minimal at best” while the impact on employee privacy was found to be much more severe. “Consequently, the board concluded that the employer had not demonstrated the requisite problems with dangerousness or increased safety concerns as workplace alcohol use that would justify universal random testing.
Source: IFDAT Global Insider, Fall 2014
W. Barry Nixon is the COO, PreemploymentDirectory.com the leading background screening information portal and online worldwide directory of professional background screening firms and Suppliers to the background screening industry. He co-authored the landmark book, Background Screening & Investigations: Managing Hiring Risk from the HR and Security Perspective. He also is the publisher of award winning newsletters, The Background Buzz and The Global Background Screener, and the author of the Background Checks column in PI Magazine.
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