The validity of drug testing in the workplace has been the subject of extensive case law. Generally, unilaterally implemented random drug testing in a unionized workplace has been found to be impermissible except in limited circumstances, including where there is a demonstrated drug use problem in a dangerous workplace or other “extreme circumstances”. Those cases have also emphasized that a union and employer can negotiate drug testing policies applicable to employees. A recent decision from a Quebec arbitration tribunal discusses the importance of freely negotiated policies in justifying an employer imposing random testing.
