As with other industries, the workplace drug and alcohol testing policy of an employer within the manufacturing industry must balance the goal of creating a safe workplace with an employee’s right to privacy and to be free from discrimination. While adjudicators in the province of Ontario have generally forbidden the practice of pre-employment testing, Alberta has taken a more permission approach due to the concern that such screening could be used to engage in unlawful discrimination against persons with addiction-related disabilities. Opinions and regulations also are divided regarding random testing, reasonable-cause testing, and post-incident testing, but courts have generally accepted return-to-work testing for an employee who has previously breached a drug and alcohol policy as reasonable.
