State News : New Jersey

 Many employers have a policy of mandatory post-injury drug testing.  Those policies must now be reconsidered and largely jettisoned. The underpinning of the new OSHA policy on drug testing is the belief that blanket post-injury drug testing policies deter proper reporting of injuries.  On May 12, 2016 OSHA published new final rules against discrimination and injury and illness reporting.  The new rule became effective August 10, 2016.  The rule itself does not mention blanket drug testing policies, but the Comments to the rule make clear OSHA’s position.

The way OSHA gets to drug testing is through Section 1904.35(b)(1)(iv) which prohibits an employer from discharging or discriminating against an employee for reporting a work-related injury or illness.  While the evidence seems threadbare that employers retaliate against employees who report work injuries by requiring post-accident drug testing, employers have to deal with the new rule, like it or not.

Here is the new standard contained in the Comments to the rule.  “To strike the appropriate balance here, drug testing policies should limit post-incident testing to situations in which employee drug use is likely to have contributed to the incident, and for which the drug test can accurately identify impairment caused by drug use.”  Employers rightly question how they will develop the expertise to know when drugs are contributing to an accident. The Comments suggest that it would not be reasonable to drug test an employee who reports a bee sting, a repetitive strain injury, or an injury caused by a lack of machine guarding or a machine or tool malfunction.  That sort of testing, in the view of OSHA, “is likely only to deter reporting without contributing to the employer’s understanding of why the injury occurred, or in any other way contributing to workplace safety.”

Another harm that OSHA sees in drug testing is that it can be perceived as punitive or embarrassing to the employee and therefore likely to deter injury reporting.  OSHA states that “this final rule does not ban drug testing of employees.  However, the final rule does prohibit employers from using drug testing (or the threat of drug testing) as a form of adverse action against employees who report injuries or illnesses.”

So how can an employer perform post-incident drug testing while at the same time convincing OSHA that it is not doing this to deter reporting of injuries or illnesses?  OSHA says that drug testing which complies with a requirement of state or federal law or regulation is fine because the motive of the employer will be considered non-retaliatory. But those examples of drug testing do not address the issues most employers face.

OSHA adds the following opaque comment: “Employers need not specifically suspect drug use before testing, but there should be a reasonable possibility that drug use by the reporting employee was a contributing factor to the reported injury or illness in order for an employer to require drug testing.”  What “reasonable possibility” means is anyone’s guess at this point in time.  Questions abound on how an employer will be able to acquire in the short window of time following an accident sufficient information to make a decision to drug test under the “reasonable possibility” standard?  A huge percentage of workers’ compensation accidents are unwitnessed, and drug use is widespread in our society generally.  One can argue that there is always a reasonable possibility that drugs may be involved in work injuries, but clearly OSHA is looking for something beyond broad generalities like this.  The Comments provide no examples of what OSHA is looking for.  The likely effect of this rule will be to deter employers from drug testing after work injuries, and ultimately this will make workplaces and workers less safe.

Employer groups will surely challenge this rule in federal court.  In the interim, employers should know that maximum penalties are now $12,000 per violation and over $120,000 for repeat violations. Given the new rule is now in effect, we recommend that employers, if they have not already done so, take a fresh look at their drug testing policies.

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John H. Geaney, Esq., is an Executive Committee Member and a Shareholder in Capehart Scatchard's Workers’ Compensation Group.  Mr. Geaney concentrates his practice in the representation of employers, self-insured companies, third-party administrators, and insurance carriers in workers’ compensation, the Americans with Disabilities Act and Family and Medical Leave Act. Should you have any questions or would like more information, please contact Mr. Geaney at 856.914.2063 or by e‑mail at jgeaney@capehart.com.