Drug testing in Ontario
 

I'm not going to go into details but some things happend over the last couple of months that have brought us to the conclusion that we need random drug testing in our company policy.

Is there anybody from Ontario that also does this?

Do you use a firm for it?
Who do you use?
Does it cost per test or a fixed rate?
How much does it cost?
And do you do the test in house or do your employees have to go somewhere to do it?

thanks.

I believe drug abuse is a disability in canada, so even if someone tests positive, you can't fire them for that.

Try talking to Penny at Integrated Training Resources ITR in Milton, Ontario.

888.812.0099

Drug/alcohol testing, your place or theirs, safety/compliance/policy consulting and training, custom printed materials like log books, etc.

Yes, the Ontario jurisdiction, and Canada in general, is more generous towards workers with problems than some US states, but culpability plays a significant role in continued employment, as well as the liabilities involved in someone allowed to be unfit for duty in a safety sensitive job.

I've talked to a police officer about that and he told me that as long as it's written into the company policy and the employee was informed of it during the interview process it is ok to fire them for a positive drug test.

Thanks again LBF

goodbye in New Zealand for positive drug or alcohol test as it should be ,2 written warnings an down the road for other stuff

I wouldn't be taking "labor law" advice from a frickin' cop>that's what a lawyer skilled in labor law is for.

I don't disagree with you for one second about mandatory drug testing but you are on a very slippery slope right now and you need the best legal advice you can find.

I drive for a very large Canadian company. They send us to local clinics to have the sample taken. That clinic then ships the sample for testing. I don't think a company would be allowed to test in house. I've been on layover and gone to different clinics in those cities, or here at home at start/finish of a trip. As the name random implies, you never know when.

I have no idea of costs involved.

The hired clinic can come to the workplace to do the testing, provided that an appropriate facility is available. Or, the drivers just get sent out to the clinic.
An employer may make the appropriate facility available at their premises, but most/many won't bother with the expense. No matter how the sample is collected or where, the samples all go to a proper lab, otherwise, the whole program would collapse under legal scrutiny.

Absolutely, qualified help is required to institute and maintain a drug and alcohol testing program. Do it wrong, and you get your employee back, and sued for a ton o ca$h, and get to become a case study for others to learn from.

Drug testing is a tool for implementing a substance abuse awareness program. In itself, it does not provide a solution.

My Recommendation:
1.) The first thing you should do is call for a "joint" meeting between management and personnel.
2.) You need to determine how "kronic" the problems of substance abuse in your company are.
3.) You should keep some flexibility in the structure of your substance abuse plan. Quite often, you'll discover that you need to do some "tweaking".