Pubdate: Thu, 08 May 2014
Source: Calgary Herald (CN AB)
Copyright: 2014 Postmedia Network
Contact:  http://www.calgaryherald.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/66
Author: Manisha Krishnan, with files from Jason Markusoff
Page: A8

CITY DRAWS FIRE FOR PRE-EMPLOYMENT DRUG TESTING

A mandatory drug-testing policy being adopted by the City of Calgary
is ineffective at best and discriminatory at worst, argue critics.

Prospective City of Calgary transit drivers are among the "safety
sensitive" employees who will be subjected to testing for marijuana
and cocaine use prior to being offered employment.

The program, which would see applicants for "safety sensitive" jobs
subjected to pre-employment testing for marijuana and cocaine, was
approved by top administrators after a lengthy discussion Tuesday, a
city spokeswoman confirmed. The city did not respond further.

Virtually unprecedented in Alberta's public sector, the policy will
extend to prospective transit drivers, operators of heavy machinery
and water treatment plant workers, taking effect in 2015. Its creation
was not prompted by any substance-abuse-related incidents among city
employees, which is partially why Gil McGowan, president of the
Alberta Federation of Labour, deemed it completely
unnecessary.

"As far as I know, there's not even a single incident involving a city
employee who was found to be either drunk or impaired on the job.

"It begs the question: Where is this coming from?"

According to McGowan, there's no evidence that employee drug testing
policies increase workplace safety; they do not identify on-the-job
impairment but rather past drug use, which he believes is irrelevant.
Furthermore, he said, they're an infringement of privacy rights.

"If an employer is going to violate the privacy rights of its
employees, then they better damn well have a good reason to do so."

Legally, however, the city is within its rights.

Recently, the Alberta Arbitration Board denounced energy giant
Suncor's random drug and alcohol testing policy because there was
insufficient proof of a substance-abuse culture in the oil sands.
Random drug testing tends to be more legally questionable because it
invades the rights of current employees, said Eric Adams, an associate
professor of law at the University of Alberta, who specializes in
labour issues.

Those rights, however, don't apply to job applicants who aren't
protected by a union. And, unlike addicts, casual drug users would
have a hard time proving a discrimination case.

"Human-rights law has difficulty applying to you because it's not
clear you're being turned away because of a drug addiction, rather
it's that you failed a drug test," said Adams.

Rick Ratcliff, president of the Amalgamated Transit Union, said he has
concerns about the policy but his hands are tied.

"If we had the language in the contract that allowed for us to
intervene, I'm sure we would," he said. While he agreed that workers
should be accountable for their job performance, "What I do on my own
time is my business."

Mayor Naheed Nenshi previously expressed support for the program,
calling it "good organizational hygiene."

"It's good for Calgarians to know that the people who are operating
the heavy equipment are doing it in full control."

A pilot project among seasonal workers in the city's roads department
took place last spring, with four of 63 applicants testing positive
for drugs.
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MAP posted-by: Matt